Savior
by I' shou'L'd be 'OVE'r 'YOU
Summary: A girl, Rienna, is on the run from Org XIII. Axel is both her protector and her soulmate. She refuses to admit the truth. While protecting her, Axel has to get her to realize that they are meant for each other. Rienna is not a original KH character.
1. Chance Encounter?

He was following me. Whenever I'd turn around, no one would be behind me. I could hear his footsteps and feel his eyes on my back. I let it go until I couldn't take it anymore. I led him into an alley then stopped at the dead end. I turned quickly and caught him ducking behind a dumpster. I acted as if I hadn't seen him and walked past him. Then I turned to face him.

"Why the hell are you following me?" I yelled.

The figure dropped his hood revealing fire-red, abnormally spiky hair. His jade green eyes seemed to look into my soul as we stared at each other in silence.

"It's my job. I was hired to protect you."

"Protect me? Protect me from what?"

Three people dropped from the top of the building and landed in front of my. He turned and immediately took a defensive position.

"I'm meant to protect you from them. Stay behind me. If I tell you to run, you run."

I nodded.

He stormed the trio. Each one was cloaked in black. As he rushed toward them, they just stood still. When he was close enough, they moved.

"Are you done?" the middle person asked, "Just let us have her, Axel. You know you can't protect her."

"Yes, I can!" Axel argued, getting to his feet.

"What do you want from me?" I asked in a whisper.

The trio turned to me, the same person answering my question, "It's simple really. You have the power we need to destroy him and all of his kind."

"And if I don't help you?"

"We kill you."

I looked from the trio to Axel. He shook his head. I didn't answer. Something inside of me told me not to help them.

"I'd rather die."

"So be it."

All three of them lunged at me. Axel jumped out in front of me and threw one of them back. The other two moved around Axel and knocked me to the ground. The one Axel threw back hit the wall and immediately stood back up. I tried to get to my feet only to be knocked back to the ground again. Axel took one of them by his shirt and threw him back then the other one soon followed. He helped me to my feet.

"You have to run. You have to hide. Don't you dare look back."

"I won't leave you."

"I'll find you again. I just need you to stay hidden until morning."

I nodded and ran from the alley. I could hear Axel's grunts and cries as he fought against the three. I didn't want to look back he had told me not to. I stopped running and foolishly turned to look back the way I had come. One figure in black was running toward me.

"Stay away from her!" Axel yelled as he dove forward. He managed to grab the other man's cloak and throw him back. Axel kept running until he reached me, taking my hand.

"We have to go." He whispered.

I gave a curt nod and ran next to him.

"Close your eyes." He muttered.

I did and the next thing I knew I was being held tightly to his body, wind flowing freely through my hair. Minutes later my released my but kept my hand tight in his.

"Open your eyes."

I did so and was amazed at my new surroundings. I was in a forest, a crystal blue lake to my left and hundreds of exotic flowers to my right. In front of me was a small cottage.

"I'll be back. You can go inside if you'd like or you can wait out here. When I get back I'll tell you everything."

He turned to leave me.

"Axel…" I whispered.

He hummed in response.

"Thank you."

"It's my job."

With that, he disappeared. I stayed outside for a while, kicking my bare feet through the water of the lake. I found a caterpillar when I inspected the flowers. It was green with little yellow spots. I put my feet back into the water and watched the little caterpillar crawl over my hand. Hours passed when I heard Axel chuckle behind me. I turned to see him leaning against the cottage.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You look so young."

"I am young. Now come here and tell me what the hell is going on."

He walked to and crouched down next to me.

"Those people were members of Organization XIII. They're a secret group of people whose only goal in life is to destroy the Heartless. They were after you because what they need to destroy them, it's in your genetic code."

I gave him a confused look.

"Your DNA, kid."

"I'm not a kid."

"We'll discuss that later. I was sent to protect you from the Organization by an anti-Nobody group. Nobodies are the hallow shells of people after they lose all feeling and become a Heartless. Everyone in the Organization is a Nobody."

"So they want me dead so they can use my blood to destroy this other species?"

"Pretty much."

"And you're supposed to protect me?"

"Yes but there will be others coming in from time to time to check in."

"Whose cottage is this anyway?" I asked as I poked at the caterpillar.

"Mine, I live here."

"It's nice, peaceful, I mean."

"Have you even been inside?"

I shook my head. He chuckled again. He stood and then pulled me to my feet by my elbows.

"What do you say we find a jar for the caterpillar?"

I nodded and followed him into the house. He gave me a small jar and I put the bug inside it. I went back outside and found a nice sized twig and some leave to put in the jar with it.

A couple of weeks passed. Axel insisted that I train to fight. He taught me what he could and allowed the other members the "anti-Organization" to teach me anything else. After a hard training session with Tifa and Cloud, I went inside, took a shower and changed clothes. The other two stayed outside and fought. I walked into the living room and Axel had pictures panned out all over the coffee table and the floor around it. I peered over his shoulder.

"What is all of that?"

"These are the members of my Organization. You need to learn them and get to know them. They will be helping me with keeping you alive. I've realized that every time they come over you can't seem to remember their names."

I sat down on the couch next to him. He held up a picture of himself. I smiled.

"Axel."

"Yes, it is me."

I looked at all the pictures, flipped myself on the couch so I was hanging upside down and sighed.

"Do I really have to learn all of them?"

"Yes. It is our job to keep you alive. They're making the effort to learn about you. So you should do the same for them. Got it memorized?"

I flipped upright and got in his face.

"Hey, I'm in charge here. You can't do anything without me. Got that memorized?"

"Spunky, it's cute."

I nodded and stood up off the couch.

"So what's for dinner?" he called as I stepped into the kitchen.

"I don't know. You tell me."

He scoffed and walked into the kitchen. He stood behind me. His chest was so close to the back of my head I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Now what were you saying about you not being a kid?"

"I am 17 years old, practically an adult."

"Is that so?"

He slid his hands around my waist.

"Axel what are you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing." He chuckled.

I turned to face him, a small smile cursing my lips. His hands met at the small of my back. He lifted me onto the counter and spread my legs, moving in between them. Words from my childhood flitted through my mind.

"_He'll come to you in the form of your protector._

_He'll do whatever he has to so he can keep you safe._

_He loves but don't worry if he doesn't realize it. _

_He'll be yours soon enough, all you have to do is wait."_

His lips met hers. I pulled away from him and looked into his eyes.

"We're…" I began but he cut me off.

"…meant for each other." He said before kissing me again.

The conviction in the statement was all I needed to realize the truth. He held me tightly in his arms. His tongue brushed my lips and I parted them to allow his tongue to slip through. My fingers tangled in his hair. He pressed my body closer to his. Someone to the side giggled and someone else cleared their throat.

Axel pulled away reluctantly and glared in the direction the interruption came from.

"That's so cute." Tifa giggled.

"Get a room." Cloud said.

I gave them a death glare.

"Just saying."

Cloud and Tifa left.

"Well that really killed the mood." I muttered.

"Really?" Axel asked.

He looked at me, his eyes wide. I kissed him before pushing him back so I could get off of the counter. I walked past him and to my room.

"Damn it."

That was all I heard before I shut my bedroom door.


	2. Envy Is A Deadly Thing

I woke up to breaking glass. I looked around my room to see a dark figure crouching underneath the window. I tried to scream but the figure leaped at me and covered my mouth.

"Scream and you die." The figure said.

I nodded. The figure removed his hand.

"What do you want?" I whispered.

"That's none of your concern."

The figure stood and began walking to the door.

"AXEL!" I screamed.

The figure stopped moving and turned back to me. He drew a knife and moved toward me. I jumped out of the bed and scrambled to the door. I threw the door open and ran towards Axel's room. The dark figure chased through the house.

I beat my fist against Axel's door.

"Open the door!" I demanded.

When I went to hit the door again, it flew open. I looked up at Axel then back at the figure. I scrambled past Axel and climbed into his bed. Axel turned to me.

"What the hell?" he muttered sleepily.

"Turn around." I answered, my voice shaking and full of tears.

Axel turned right as the figure fisted his hand and punched him. The hit didn't faze him too much but it hurt me. Axel and the figure fought in the dark for a little while.

"Turn. On. The. Light." Axel said each word in between punches.

I moved to turn on the light. I turned it on saw Axel fighting for his life. The figure was cloaked in black, blonde hair sticking out from beneath a hood. He was short, a lot shorter than Axel. Axel was taking hits as if he didn't want to hurt the other guy. The other man drew his knife and pointed it at Axel.

"I surrender." Axel muttered.

"This," The figure said, pointed his knife in my direction, "is what you left me for?"

"I was sent to protect her. And I didn't leave you. Roxas, you left me."

The figure took his hood off. Roxas, that was what Axel had called him, had bright blue eyes and unusually spiky blonde hair.

"I took my place back in the Organization. I thought you were coming with me."

"I was dismissed. I couldn't go back even if I wanted to. I loved you, Rox, but that wasn't enough to get me to try to get reinstated." Axel closed his eyes and a tear escaped them, "Now, why are you here?"

"I came for you."

"I'm not going with you."

"Why not? You're only hurting yourself. Come back with me, Axel, please."

"You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"You know why!"

"Is it because of this fucking girl?"

"Roxas! Get out of my house."

The look on Roxas' was one of shock. His eyes were wide but were full of hate and remorse. Roxas brought his knife to meet Axel's vision perfectly.

"If I can't have you, no one can."

Roxas thrust the knife forward. He drove it into Axel's shoulder and ripped it downward. Axel fell of the knife. Roxas turned to face me. He nodded curtly and left. I sat in the bed, completely dumbstruck. Seconds later, I was at Axel's side.

"Ax…Axel please…Wake up…AXEL WAKE UP!" I screamed.

I scrambled to the bedside table and grabbed Axel's phone. I fought to flip it open. I scrolled through the contacts and called the first person I could remember.

The phone rang four times before he finally answered.

"Axel," Cloud mumbled, "do you kn_"

"I need help right now. Axel's been hurt."

"Rienna? What happened?"

"Some guy, Roxas or something, broke the window to my room. Then he tried to kill me but I ran out of the room. He chased me through the house. Then he and Axel fought. He said 'If I can't have you, no one can'. Then he stabbed Axel."

I was almost into hysterics.

"Calm down. I'm on my way."

"Hurry!"

I hung up the phone and rested Axel's head in my lap.

"Axel, you can't leave me. Please, I need you."

I held him like that for over half an hour waiting for Cloud to show up, all the while repeating the words 'I need you'.

Cloud finally showed up with Tifa, Sora, and Kairi in tow. Cloud knelt down next to Axel.

"Kairi, go get me a towel and wet it."

The one called Kairi did as I was told. Sora helped cloud put Axel on the bed. Rienna never left his side. Kairi came back into the room and gave Cloud the wet towel. He used it clean off the cut. It had already stopped bleeding.

"Roxas never was good with a knife." Sora laughed, examining the mark.

"Huh?" I muttered.

"He didn't cut into Axel's heart. A little further to the left, he probably would have. Axel will be fine. He should wake up later today or tomorrow."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Thank you."

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked put my hand on Rienna's shoulder.

I nodded and looked at Axel, "I'm glad he'll be okay."

"We all are. I know he would never forgive himself if he left you behind."

I looked up at Tifa with a confused look.

"Ask him when he wakes up. He'll have to tell you everything."

They all nodded and left.


	3. Promises

The next morning was a living hell. I sat on Axel's bed next to his body for hours. Around two that evening, Axel groaned. I moved just slightly to get a better look at his face. His eyes fluttered open slowly and he looked at me with those same jade green eyes.

"Heaven?" he muttered, raising his hand to my cheek.

"You're not dead, Axel. Roxas has bad aim."

Axel chuckled then stopped to catch his breath.

"Axel, why did you think you were in Heaven?"

"Because I deserve Hell if I leave you here."

"But why?"

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed. We belong together. We were made for each other, Rienna."

I didn't look at him. I knew the truth but I didn't want to admit it. I refused to believe that he would stay with me once his job was done.

"I'm never going to leave you. You need me. You said so yourself."

Axel groaned as he sat up.

"Hey, I'm alive and I'm here. I'm not leaving you."

Axel lifted my chin to meet my gaze.

"I'm never leaving." He muttered.

He leaned forward and kissed my lips. I knew I couldn't keep kissing him but I wanted to. I reluctantly pulled away from him.

"Why don't you ever want to kiss me?"

"It's not that I don't want to."

"Then what?"

"Axel, you were sent here to protect me. Eventually, they'll make you leave to protect some other helpless girl."

"Why can't you be here waiting for me to get back even if they do?"

"What if you go off and find someone else?"

He looked at me in silence then burst out laughing. I hit his arm and walked out of the room. He stood up and almost fell over. He followed me after he steadied himself. He searched all over the house for me. He found me outside, standing next to the lake. He walked up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. He pulled me close. I pulled away and sat down by the water.

"Why are you mad?"

"Why did you laugh?"

"I laughed because you honestly think I would leave and move on. I've known you for barely four months and I love you more than anything. I surrendered to Roxas to save you. He would have killed you instead of me if I didn't."

"Who is Roxas?"

"We were at the Organization together. I was a trainer of sorts. He was also my boyfriend when I was there."

"Boyfriend?"

"Another story for another day."

"But_"

"But after I met Sora and everyone, I left the Organization. I decided that what they were doing was better than anything the Organization could do. Over the years, I protected people from the Organization. I've been all over the world. You know, I haven't been to this place in years. Kairi was taking care of everything for me. When I decided to bring you here, everyone was a little more than skeptical but there was nowhere else I could bring you. I just wanted to protect you."

"But what if_"

"Let me guess. What if something happens like what happened tonight?"

I nodded.

"Then it happens. If it'll make you feel better, I'll never go alone. I'll take Cloud with me every time."

I looked out the lake. The moon's reflection rippled. I saw myself in the water. Axel knelt down, casting his own reflection behind me.

"I love you Rienna. I don't want to lose you."

I stood and turned to face him.

"I hate you." I screamed.

"What?"

"I. Hate. You. I cannot believe you talked me into loving you."

"So you'll stay?"

"Yes, I'll stay. But on one condition."

"What's that?"

"I don't have to train anymore."

"That's not up to me."

"Well, if you can't meet my condition…"

I tried to walk past him but he caught me in his arms.

"I'll talk to Cloud okay?"

I nodded and started struggling against his hold. I managed to pull him back into the house. Once inside, I stopped fighting. He pinned me, face first, to the wall. He kissed my neck. I giggled. We were standing in the hallway. He turned me around and looked into my eyes before kissing me. He pinned me against the wall. He ran his hands down my sides and as he slid them under my shirt, I gasped.

"Axel…"

He hummed in response.

"I can't do this right now."

He stopped trailing kisses down my throat. He hummed again. I put my hands on his shoulders and forced him back. He looked at me, pleading questions in his eyes.

"What's stopping you?"

"We're in the hallway, Axel."

I laughed and ran from him, stripping my shirt and kicking off my flip-flops in the process.

"Fucking tease!" he yelled as he followed me.

I ran into his room and jumped on the bed.

"No, you get off the bed now." He said, sauntering over to pick me up.

He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me off the bed. He pushed my back against the wall and kissed my lips, then my neck, then my collarbone, and kept moving his lips down my body. I gasped as his tongue slid down the front of my torso; he was down on his knees now. He chuckled and smiled against my skin as he kissed my waist, just above my panty line. He undid my belt and pulled it from the belt loops. He undid the button on my shorts with his teeth. I tangled my fingers in his hair as he kissed and nipped at my waist. He slid my shorts down my legs and I stepped out them. He ran his hands down my legs and then back up, taking hold of my underwear. He tried to pull then down but I stopped him. I grabbed his hands and looked down at him. His gaze met mine.

I brought him to his feet and turned him around. I circled his body and stopped in front of him. I pushed him against the wall and laughed. I took hold of his shirt and tugged on it.

"Take it off… now."

He pulled his shirt over his head with a very annoying smile. I ran my fingers over his chest and left a trail of kisses going down. I unbuttoned his jeans and slid them off of his body. He was standing in front of me in nothing but his boxers. I pulled his away from the wall by his arms and led him over to the bed. We stood at the side of it, the backs of his legs against the mattress. I pushed him back and he fell onto the bed. I climbed onto him and kissed him. He sat up and pressed my body against his. His hands moved up my back and unhooked my bra. I took it off and tossed it to the side.

His took his lips from mine and kissed down my throat. He flipped us over, laid me back and kissed down my body. He stopped at my waist and then pulled my panties off. He tossed them to the side and chuckled as he kissed back up my body. He kissed my lips and licked my bottom lip, begging for entry. I refused. He pulled away from me and scanned my face with his eyes.

"I thought we were past the teasing."

"I'm not."

"I can fix that."

He bit down on my neck and I cried in both pain and pleasure. As I cried out, his tongue met mine and they fought for dominance. I could feel Axel's stiffness on my leg. I pulled away from him.

"Axel, boxers off now."

He smiled and pulled them from his body. I sat up and pushed him onto the bed again. I climbed on top him, my legs on either side of his body. He sat up and pulled me onto him. He kissed my collarbone and left hickeys all over my boobs as I moved against his body. We moaned together as I crushed his body against mine, pushing him further into me. After about a half hour, he rolled us, putting himself on top. He moved in and out of my body, moaning almost every time. My breathing caught and I began to pant.

"Wait for me, babe, just wait." He breathed.

"Ax, I can't." I panted.

I gripped the sheets as I finally reached my climax. Axel kept going and I didn't want him to stop.

"Axel." I moaned.

After another hour or so, he reached his climax and rolled us back over. I lay there, naked, on top of his body. His skin was warm and sweaty. Several locks of hair stuck to his face from the sweat on his forehead. I kissed his chest, next to where my head was resting. He chuckled and moved his hand down my hair and back.

"I love you, Axel." I whispered.

His hand stopped at the small of my back and he gasped.

"What?" I asked.

"You actually said it."

"Yeah, so?"

"You just… never said it."

"Aren't you supposed to say it back now?"

"I love you, Rienna, with all of my heart."

I smiled and finally climbed off of him about ten minutes later. I got into the shower and he joined me under the water.

Things were normal for almost a whole week. We finally had no problem showing affection in front of the others. He never had a problem with it. A couple days later, a Thursday to be exact, Cloud stopped by the house at about two in the morning. Axel, very angrily, answered the door.

"Cloud, what the hell?"

Axel had on nothing but boxers.

"Who is it?" I yelled from the bedroom.

"It's Cloud!"

I groaned and pulled on Axel's shirt, that was all I had on besides the panties Axel was about to take off. I walked out of the room and into the kitchen. I grabbed a drink from the fridge and went to the living room where Axel and Cloud were sitting. I climbed onto Axel's lap and he put one arm around my back and the other across my legs.

"What is this about, Cloud?" Axel asked.

"They've found it somewhere else."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"The 'weapon' in your blood showed up in someone else. They have it now. The boy gave himself up because he didn't want to die."

"Someone else has my genetic code?" I laughed.

"It's not the same. It has the same amount of power but it will end them, most likely, in a different way, meaning faster or slower."

"I told you. You should have listened to Sora. He told you it was possible to find it somewhere else." Axel scolded.

"I don't get it. This will kill the Heartless. I thought they were bad anyway." I was almost clueless.

"If the Organization gets a hold of the hearts the Heartless release when killed, they could end the world." Cloud explained.

"That can't happen." I said.

"Ri, it'll kill me too. It will kill Cloud and everyone else that we work with." Axel muttered.

"What? How can it kill you?"

"We have the genes of the Heartless but our human side was more dominant so we are practically humans. We have emotions. We can love just as well as a human, if not better."

I got off of Axel's lap and went back into the bedroom. I sat on the bed, cross-legged. Axel and Cloud emerged in the doorway.

"Is there a way to stop them?" I muttered.

"Only one but it's almost impossible." Cloud answered.

"How?"

"We have to kill their leader. They're nothing without someone telling them what to do."

"Xemnas is nearly impossible to kill." Axel argued.

"But we have her blood. If we can modify it, it'll kill the Nobodies not the Heartless. Haven't you figured it out yet, Ax? The Organization went after her because her blood was the strongest of what they found before."

"So how do you modify it?" I asked.

"We run some tests." Cloud smiled.

"In the morning please, we're busy."

Cloud nodded and left the house. Axel shut and locked the door behind him. He came back into the room and shut the bedroom door.

"Now where were we?" he teased.

I giggled as we went back to what we were "busy" with before we were so rudely interrupted.

XXXXXXXXXX

BTW they had sex every day after the first time. Sometimes they did it more than once a day. Cloud's interrupting took place during the third time that night.


	4. False Blame

"Axel, I don't want a needle in my arm!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Babe, it's the only way."

Axel, with Cloud's help, was trying to hold me down. Sora was trying to put a needle in my arm so he could draw blood. I decided to kick and scream until they let me go.

"I think I know how you can calm her down." Sora said in an irritated tone.

"How?" Axel questioned before I threw my hand back and hit him in the face.

"Kiss her."

"No! Ax, don't you dare! That needle is not going into my_"

Axel smiled and crushed my lips with his. Unfortunately, Sora was right. I lifted my hand, the one that wasn't still being held down my Cloud, to Axel's face. I cupped his cheek in my hand and stroked the upside-teardrop tattoo underneath his eye with my thumb. I barely noticed the prick of the needle as it broke skin. Axel kept kissing me until he quickly broke off. I whined as I looked up at him. His face was still so close to mine; his cheek was still against my palm. He put his hand over mine and twined his fingers through mine.

"You'll get all you want from me tonight." He whispered.

I smiled and kissed his lips one more time until Sora so politely cleared his throat.

"Sorry." Axel and I muttered at the same time. Axel stood up straight but didn't release my hand.

"Can I get up now?" I asked Sora.

He looked at me and gave me a quick nod. I sat up in the bed the forced me into. Axel sat down next to me and I looked up at his face. I put my head on his arm and closed my eyes.

"How long before we know something?" Axel asked, shifting so that his arm was behind me instead of under me.

"It may be a few days but I'm expecting weeks. I'll let you know something as soon as I can. I'll have to get a hold of Zexion. He was always better at this science stuff."

I listened as they talked. I fell asleep to the sounds of Axel's heart and the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

I woke up in Axel's arms. He had moved us to the couch. The T.V. was on but it was muted. I was on his lap. My cheek was against his chest. His chin rested on the top of my head. His arms were holding me on his legs. One arm crossed over my legs; it was covered in bruises and scars. The other was around my back. His fingers traced small circles on my side. My feet were bare. I was wearing one of Axel's shirts and virtually nothing else. I blinked and lifted my head. I looked up at him. His eyes were closed, a cut beneath his right eye. There was music coming from the bedroom. It sounded like "Leave out All the Rest" by Linkin Park.

"Axel?"

His eyes fluttered open and he stared at my face.

"Are you okay?" I asked, combing his hair back with my fingers.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"What happened to you?"

"A couple of Organization guys stopped by while you were sleeping. They came into our room and I heard them talking. I went in and they tried to fight me. I manage to fight them off. Then I picked you up and brought you out here with me." His kissed my cheek and laid my head back on his chest. "I don't want you to go anywhere."

"But I'm hungry."

"Then let's go to the kitchen."

He let me up off his lap. He grabbed my hand and walked me into the kitchen. He sat me up on the counter, groaning as he lifted me.

"Take your shirt off." I demanded.

"No."

"Axel, take it off."

He sighed and pulled his shirt over his head. All over his upper body were bruises and open wounds that weren't bleeding anymore. I jumped from the counter and closed the little space between us. I grazed my fingers over chest, over bruises and cuts. I gasped.

"All of this is because of me." I whispered.

I put my hand over my eyes and tried to get control of my breathing.

"No…" Axel said quickly, "It's not your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself for all of this."

He took my face in between his hands and forced my gaze to meet his. His green eyes were full of tears. He pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. I began to cry as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Axel, they're hurting you because of me. You're bruised and scarred up because they want my blood. This is my fault, Axel."

I let him go and stepped out of his arms. I walked out the back door and went to the lake. I looked up at the sky, the moon nothing more than a crescent. I sat down at the edge of the water, my feet dipping into it. I watched the water ripple as my feet moved further into the water. I could feel Axel's eyes on me but he wasn't following me out this time. He stared at me from the backdoor; the backlight made the tear that fell down his cheek glisten.

I looked up at the trees next to the water. I saw a tree house. I stood up and walked to the tree. I climbed the ladder that fell to the ground. I walked inside and found a light switch. I flipped the switch and looked around. Inside, on one of the walls, were dozens of pictures of Axel and the boy he called Roxas. On the other three walls, hundreds of pictures of me and Axel were taped to the walls.

The most recent was a picture of us swimming in the lake. My arms were around his neck. His hands were on the upper part of my back, just underneath my shoulder blades. He was kissing me. Tifa took the picture for us. Most of the others were photo strips from the photo booths at the mall. It seemed like we were kissing in most of the pictures.

I thought about tonight and realized that these memories were only the past. Axel and I could have a future. He was hurt because of me but without me he'll die. I walked to the window of the house and looked back at the cottage. Axel was still in the doorway.

"Axel!" I yelled.

He looked up at me and I motioned for him to join me. He walked out the door and came over to the tree house. He climbed the ladder and walked through the door to meet me. I threw my arms around his neck and forced myself not to cry.

"I'm sorry."

"Do you still blame yourself?"

"No. After seeing all of this, I know that you were just protecting me because you love me."

"I do love you, more than anything. We'll wait for whatever happens but we wait together."

I nodded and held him tighter. Eventually he pushes me back and climbs down the ladder. I follow behind him and we go back into the house. We heat up some leftover Chinese food and eat. Then we go to bed. He hugs me tightly to his body and I fall asleep quickly.


	5. Story Time

I opened my eyes to darkness. I could hear Axel's shallow breathing behind me. Then his breathing got faster. He was panting. I turned on the lamp and looked at his face. He was sweating and muttering my name.

"Axel?" I whispered.

"Roxas, stop." He whispered.

I blinked in surprise. I wasn't expecting to hear his name.

His breathing got faster and I could practically hear his heartbeat. I put my hand on his face and tried to calm him. Slowly, very slowly, his breathing slowed as I whispered to him.

"Axel, wake up. I'm right here. Just open our eyes and look at me. I'm okay. Open your eyes please."

"Axel, baby, you need to wake up."

Still, his eyes didn't open. I sighed and resorted to the only thing I could guarantee would work.

"Axel, I'm about to get in the shower."

His eyes flew open and he sat up. "I wanna go!" he yelled.

"Mhm." I hummed, climbing out of bed.

"What did I do?"

"Dreaming about Roxas, are we?" I said angrily.

"I…uh…I'm sorry."

"What was happening in this precious little dream of yours?"

"I haven't been in that tree house in years. Tifa put all of those pictures up for me. I guess being back up there brought back some unwanted memories."

I thought about it for a second; my eyes scrutinized his face.

"Tell me about your relationship with Roxas."

"No."

"I wasn't asking Axel."

He sighed and motioned for me to get back in the bed. I did so but stayed as far away from his as I could without almost falling off. He pulled me across the bed and onto his lap. He kissed my cheek and sighed again.

"Roxas was my first and last boyfriend. I trained him when he first came to the Organization. When I first saw him, I didn't know how to react. His parents had just been killed. His brother was becoming a Heartless. Roxas was an innocent child, until he killed his brother. He came to us covered in his brother's blood. His eyes were wide and tear filled. They thought I could help him. Over the time that I was training him, I ended up falling for him. The gay thing was a whole new experience for me, but I tried it for him. But then I left the Organization. Roxas tried everything he could to get me to stay but I just couldn't.

"I wanted to be with him but not at the expense of humanity. I wanted out so I got out. He followed me for the next few years, trying to get me to go back, but I couldn't. I found out about the Heartless gene in me and I couldn't. I moved out to this cottage about six years ago and when he came here and found you was the first I'd seen of him since my last night time he visited me."

"So did you two ever… you know…"

"Yes, we had sex a few times actually. Don't worry; he doesn't even come close to you."

I smiled and kissed him, "What are you not telling me about him."

"Please, I can't say tell you about that just yet. I'm not sure how to tell you."

"Alright, I won't for you too, but what were you saying my name for?"

"I was dreaming about that night he came here. I was dreaming about what it would've been like if I couldn't have saved you."

"I would appreciate some more detail than that."

"I saw Roxas' knife in you instead of me. I pulled you onto my lap and held onto you. Cloud and Sora came over the next morning and I was still holding you and crying over your body. Cloud tried to take you from me but I wouldn't let go. Then Sora pulled me away and Cloud took you. They left me there crying. They checked in on me every day. They could never find me in my own room. I was always in yours. They would find me on your bed curled up with your favorite blanket. I would sit in your closet just so I could breathe in your scent. Then one day I was sitting in your closet and the door opened. Roxas was there looking down on me. He tried to comfort me and I just pushed him away. I blamed him for killing you. I yelled at him and sent him away. Then, after I was sure he was gone, I went out to the lake. I sat there, in the spot you always sit and I looked into the water. I saw your reflection instead of mine. You mouthed my name and I looked up. You were standing on the water. I walked out to you and held onto you. Then you woke me up with your shower lie."

"Axel, do you want to take a shower?" I teased.

"Yes." He whined as he stuck his bottom lip out and gave me a puppy dog face.

"Don't look at me like that."

"That's because it works on you."

"I'll tell you what. Put on something you won't mind getting wet and I'll meet you by the lake."

He gasped and smiled down at me. He kissed me and set me on the bed. He ran into the closet and searched for something as I went to my room. I grabbed my skimpiest bikini and put it on. I pulled Axel's shirt on over it and went out back. He was out in the water as I ran over the edge of the water. He climbed out of the water and kissed me. He rested his hands on my waist.

"What's under there?" he asked teasingly.

I pulled his shirt over my head and watched his eyes practically jump out of his face.

"Did I buy you that?"

"No," I laughed, "Kairi and I went shopping."

He blinked and laughed.

"I got it with you in mind."

He smiled and his arms wrapped around my waist. He bent forward and kissed me. He picked me up and threw me into the water. I screamed as I hit the surface. He dove in after me and picked me up as I floated. I pushed away from him and he dropped me. I swam to the edge and lifted myself out. I sat on the grass and kicked my feet through the water. Axel swam up and grabbed my ankles. He moved in between my legs. He put his hands on my waist. I put my hand on his soaking wet hair and wiped it back. He kissed my stomach. Then his lips moved up my body and I giggled. He pulled me down into the water and kissed my lips. My legs wrapped around his waist and my arms around his neck. I held him tight to me and he had no objection. He moved us further out into the water. We floated there, kissing for the longest time. One of his hands gripped my thigh. The other was on my back playing with the tie of my bikini top. I reached behind me with one hand and untied it. He untied the knot at the back of my neck. My top fell into the water. He kissed down my neck and kissed my breasts replacing the hickeys that were fading from the fun times in the bedroom. His hands slid down my sides and untied the strings that were holding my bottoms on. I used my feet to slide Axel's swim shorts off.

"Talented." He chuckled.

"Shut up and kiss me."

He kissed me with so much passion. His tongue flicked my bottom lip. I allowed it to slip through my lips and meet my own. Our lips moved together and our tongues fought for dominance. His back was pressed against the opposite side of the lake where we started. He jumped up onto the edge of the water and pulled me on top of him. He lay back on the grass and I moved against him. He moaned my name as I straddled his lap. I put my hands to his chest to brace myself as I move. As I grinded against him, he kept moaning and groaning. I eventually joined in.

His hands gripped my hips and he moved me faster. He sat up and pulled me closer. My breathing got faster and my moans got louder. He slid us back into the water which only made everything feel so much better. He turned us; my back was against the side. He braced himself on the now concrete walls. (I had it turned into a "pool" because I hated the water being so gross.)

He ground his hips against mine as he moved against my body. My nails dug into his back and I scratched him. He moaned, louder this time. I wasn't sure how much time passed but eventually we weren't moving anymore. We were just kissing.

That's when I heard it, the clapping. I pulled away from Axel and looked over at the back door. Roxas stood there clapping and laughing. He was walking toward the lake.

"Axel…" I whispered.

He simply hummed in response.

"Roxas is here."

He turned around after dropping me into the water. I moved up behind Axel and wrapped my arms around his waist. He patted my hands.

"Roxas, why are you here?"

"You told her out story, Axel, but you didn't tell her all of it."

"Stop, Roxas."

"Did he tell you about the real reason he left?"

"Roxas!" Axel screamed.

"Did he tell you about her? About Larxene?"

"God damn it, Roxas, stop!"

"He killed her, Rienna. Larxene was the one he loved before me. They gave me to him so he would stop sulking. They thought that, if had a little project, then he wouldn't miss her anymore. He ended up falling in love with me. But he started to miss her again. So he left me there."

"Roxas, stop…"

I could hear the tears in Axel's voice and I held him tighter.

"So Axel, are you missing her yet? Do you remember what you did?"

Axel head dropped. I held him tighter and kissed his back. Then I thought about what was happening. I stepped around Axel (thank God the water was high enough to cover me).

"Roxas, that's enough!" I yelled, "Leave us alone! Axel doesn't want you anymore. The only reason you're here is because you think you can get him to go back. He's with me Roxas so go away and stay away. Now in the words of my dearest Axel, got it memorized?"

Roxas looked taken back by my outburst. He blinked a few times. He stepped back as Axel handed me the pieces of my bathing suit. I put them on and climbed out of the water. I walked over to face Roxas.

"Go! Now!"

Roxas turned and ran away. I watched him leave. Axel was standing behind me now.

"I had no idea you were the jealous type."

"I'm not jealous. I'm pissed off. If he comes back again, I'm gonna cut his dick off."

He laughed and kissed my neck, "Let's go inside."

I looked up at him then out at the horizon; it was twilight. Axel took my hand lead me into the house. We changed clothes and went to bed. I tried to act as though I didn't hear anything Roxas but I heard everything. I fell asleep in Axel's room with his arms around me. I would talk to him about it but I wanted to wait until morning.


	6. Truth and Transformation

The next morning I looked at him across the kitchen table. He was eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. I watched as I sipped on the cup of tea he made for me. He finally looked up at me between a spoonful of "chocolately goodness" as he called it.

"What are you staring at?"

"How did you kill her?"

He sighed, "It's not a pleasant story."

"Well, I want to know."

"Larxene and I joined the Organization at the same time. We were best friends. As we got older, we got closer. She made the first move even though I wanted to. Uh, we were together for a few years. Then we were out on a job and it was getting to hectic. 'We can't win this! We have to go!' I yelled. 'No, I can do this!' she yelled back. I tried to grab her but she wouldn't let me take her away. I stood to the side and watched the Heartless kill her."

"Then you didn't kill her Axel. She killed herself."

"No. They wouldn't have killed me. I'm one of them, Rienna. They would never have hurt me. I could have saved her but I didn't, and now she's dead. It's my fault."

His eyes seemed darker, solid instead of liquid jade color they usually were. He was crying but he looked like he should have been. He was hurting and I knew how he felt. I thought back to the night Roxas first showed up. I sat at Axel's side crying over him; Roxas' knife was in his shoulder. I blamed myself for Roxas and I blamed myself for the fading bruises and scars on Axel's body.

He slid his chair back and stood, bowl in hand.

"Now you know everything. Are you going to judge me like everyone else did?"

"Axel, I don't care what you did in your past. You told me not to blame myself for what happened to you so I don't think you should be so hypocritical."

He walked to the sink and rinsed his bowl. He put it in the dish rack and turned back to face me.

"I guess you're right."

He walked over to me and took my tea from me. He set the cup on the table and took my face in his hands. He kissed me and pulled away slowly. His gaze met mine as his thumb grazed my cheek. He smiled and kissed my forehead. Then there was a knock at the door. He sighed and released my face. He walked out of the kitchen. I grabbed my cup and took another sip of my tea.

"Who is it?" I yelled.

"It's Sora and Zexion."

"Who?"

They walked into the kitchen. Sora and Zexion stood in the doorway.

"Zexion is the guy that was supposed to analyze your blood, remember?" Axel laughed as he walked over to me.

He stood behind me, his hands on my shoulders.

I thought about it, "Oh yeah, I thought you said it would be a while."

"Turns out he was already on his way. When I got home, he was there." Sora explained.

"So how did it go?"

I looked at Zexion. His eyes were the same blue as Roxas' but his hair was a shiny-ish gray. He didn't seem to hear Axel's question. He was staring at me. I tugged on Axel's shirt and looked up at him.

"Zexion, you're scaring her."

Zexion blinked and looked up at Axel.

"I apologize."

He spoke in a very annoying monotone. I looked at him with fear still in my eyes. He pulled a folder out of the bag he had around his shoulders. He threw it on the table. Suddenly his eyes turned from blank to angry.

"That's how it went."

Axel sat down next to me. He opened the folder and then took my hand. He moved the papers from one side of the folder to the next. He stopped on a particularly colorful page with charts and stuff like that on it. I was sitting there, having a staring contest with Zexion as I sipped on my tea. Then Axel squeezed my hand.

"No!" he yelled.

I set my cup down and took the paper from his hands. I looked it over and only got more confused.

"What does all of this mean?" I asked.

"It means we have to inject you with Heartless blood for what we need to happen to work." Axel said angrily.

"Okay, so why did you say no?"

"You'll become like me or your genetic code will change completely and you will become a Heartless yourself. We'd have to kill you if that happened."

I looked at Zexion and Sora. Then I looked at Axel.

"Can you guys give us a sec?" Axel muttered.

The other two men left the room and Axel looked at me.

"You're not doing that."

"Axel, it's the only way."

"No, I'm not risking you."

"But what if it does work? What if I can save you and everyone like you?"

"I will not risk your life for mine."

He looked away from me and down at our hands.

"I don't want to lose this." He said holding our hands up, "I don't want to lose you. You have to see this from how I'm seeing it. I've lived my life as a hybrid Heartless. It's torture for me to think about you going through this too."

"Going through what? Axel, what is so bad about this life you live?"

"I won't age. I won't die, ever. I have seen decades of pain and bullshit. Organization XIII picked me up off the street. They knew what I was. They told me I was a Nobody like them. But I found out the truth."

"If you won't die, then why let me?"

He looked at me again.

"You said you don't want to lose me, so why let me die?"

His eyes widened at my accusation, "I'm not letting you do anything."

"Exactly, you're not letting me do anything. Let me make my own choice on this, Ax. I want to stay with you forever. Don't you think that maybe if you had someone to share eternity with you wouldn't be so miserable?"

He sighed and smiled, "How did you get so smart?"

"So we'll do it then?"

"I suppose I don't have a choice now, since you're being all grown up."

"Alright, I want you to support me on this. Zexion," he and Sora came back into the room, "we're gonna do it."

"Are you sure?" he was asking me but looking at Axel.

"Yeah, I am." I glanced at Axel.

"We are." Axel agreed.

He looked at me and smiled. I knew my decision was hurting him, but he was supporting me.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zexion was leaned over me. I was lying on a table and he was strapping me down. Axel had my hand in both of his and he kept kissing it.

"It'll be okay." he repeated in a whisper.

"Axel, are you sure you want to watch this?" Sora asked.

"I'm not leaving her side."

Sora nodded and went to help Zexion.

"Babe, you don't have to stay."

"I'm not leaving."

"Axel, plea_"

"No."

He kissed my hand again. Then he looked at Zexion.

"It is time." Zexion said as he turned to face us.

The look on his face was frightening. His eyes had gone dark, so dark they looked almost black. He lips had hardened into a straight line. He looked at me and Axel. I looked away from him and watched Axel's body tense. I didn't know what he was looking at until I looked back at Zexion. He had a syringe in his hand with a two inch needle on it. My eyes widened and my grip on Axel's hand tightened. Zexion must have seen the fear in my eyes because he smirked at me.

"You don't have to do this." He muttered his eyes on the black fluid inside the syringe.

I looked at Axel again, "Let's just get this over with."

I heard Zexion's footsteps getting closer. "I honestly wish I could tell you that you will feel no pain, but I'd be lying."

"You're not making this any easier."

"I'm not supposed to."

Then he put the needle into my arm and I flinched. He pushed the black fluid out of the syringe and I bit down on my lip as tears streamed down my face. I squeezed my eyes shut and started panting. The speed of my heart quickened so much so I could hear it in my ears. I opened my eyes and almost immediately my vision glazed over. I could hear Axel's voice as he whispered to me.

"You can scream, babe. I know it hurts."

I let out a blood curdling scream as my body began to jerk and tremble. Axel's hand moved my hair from my face; I'm sure it was sticking to my forehead because I could practically feel the sweat beading on my forehead. My grip in his hand tightened again and I heard his scream. He was still sitting next me. I turned my head to look at him. He was crying, not because of his hand but because he was listening to my screams.

"Axel…" I whispered, "Make it stop please." I managed to choke out.

"Only a few more minutes, Axel, you must keep her calm. Speak to her. Keep her focused on you." Zexion instructed.

"Babe, listen to me. I need you to be okay. I can't lose you. I won't. I promise you that if you leave me here alone, I won't be far behind. I can't live if you're not with me. I was in the dark for so long. Then I found you and you pulled me into the light. I've never been as happy as I am now." He took my face in between his hands, "I need you to be okay. I love you so much."

The pain began to subside starting at my toes. Axel released my face as my breathing and my heartbeat slowed. I stopped convulsing and Zexion began to unstrap me. As the pain finally faded from the rest of my body, I sat up and stared at Axel. I looked around the room. Zexion was looking back at me, an actual smile beginning to spread across his face. I smiled up Axel. He smiled back and then gasped. I looked back to Zexion and his smile had faded.

"All her readings are normal. She is just as human as you and me. The eyes and the teeth are just unfortunate side effects and should wear by tomorrow morning."

"Can I have a mirror?" I asked.

Sora nodded and left the room. He came back in a few minutes later with a mirror in hand. He handed it to me and I gasped. My eyes were almost completely yellow. My pupils had turned yellow and most of the whites of my eyes. My teeth had sharpened.

Axel leaned down to kiss me but I jumped away from him.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to hurt you. Can you wait until this goes away?"

"No."

He pinned my hands at my sides and kissed me. He pulled away from me when Zexion started laughing. We both looked at him and he stopped.

"I am sorry for my sudden outburst. I would just to know something, if you do not mind."

"What?"

"Why did you choose to go through with this?"

"I won't lose Axel because of something I was afraid to do."

"You both seem so content with what you have here."

"We are, Zex. We love each other and we love it here." Axel muttered, taking his seat and my hand.

"Oh and by the way, I love you too." I said looking up at Axel.

Everyone laughed. Zexion took some blood from my arm. Sora and Zexion packed everything back up and were getting ready to leave when Cloud burst through the front door.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"Yes, I have taken a few blood samples. I will begin work on genetic modification when we are back at base."

"How long will it take?"

"For me, a few days at most."

"Good because I learned from a very reliable source that Roxas is planning on leading an attack against us within the next few weeks."

"Reliable source?" Zexion chuckled, "Demyx, huh?"

Cloud nodded.

"Then we'll be ready." Sora said walking out the front door.

Zexion and Cloud followed him. Axel shut the door behind them and turned back to me.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I'm going for a swim. You can come if you'd like."

"Oh hell yes."

We laughed and went out to the lake for a "swim."


	7. Rescue, Breakdowns, and BlueEyed Love

Over the next few days, Axel taught me everything I needed to know about my new life. Four days after my "transformation", a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy showed up on our doorstep. He was bruised and bleeding. Axel picked him up and carried him into my old room; I finally moved all of my stuff into Axel's room. I brought in a bowl of cold water and a towel. I folded the towel as I sat on the edge of the bed. Axel paced back and forth.

I wet the towel and cleaned the boy's bleeding marks.

"Axel, who is he?"

"His name is Demyx. He was out connection on the inside. They must have found out."

He stopped pacing and watched me as I cleaned Demyx's wounds.

"Why would they hurt him like this?"

"Maybe it's a warning."

"Hmm… give me your knife."

He handed me the knife he's been keeping on his pocket since the first night Roxas showed up. I flipped it open and cut Demyx's shirt off. Underneath he was covered in bruises. As I felt over his body, he began to flinch. His eyes opened and he jumped up, sucking his teeth as he did so.

"Don't move. You're terribly injured." I said.

"I'm fine." He forced out.

"Lay back down. I'm just cleaning you up."

He looked at me then at Axel. He nodded at Demyx. Demyx relaxed but stayed sitting up. I used his position to check his back. He had welts almost two inches thick crossing each other over and over. They all had large gashes cutting through them. I wet the towel again and squeezed it out. I dabbed it across his back. He flinched or sucked his teeth each time.

"Ax, go get me a couple of bandages, and I mean the kind that wrap around not Band-aids."

"Yeah yeah."

Axel went into the bathroom and came back out with some bandages. He handed them to me and sighed.

"May I?" I asked, looking at Demyx.

He blinked and nodded. I held one end of the bandage to his waist and began to wrap the rest of it around his torso. When I began to wrap the last one, I noticed he was staring at me.

"Why does everyone do that?" I asked, irritated.

"I'm sorry. Zexion told me about your decision. You took to the change rather well."

"Yes, but learning how to live this life has become quite a challenge."

I continued to wrap the bandage around him, crossing it over, around his shoulder twice and back around his torso.

"Thank you." he said, lying back down.

"You're welcome. Now why did you come here to us?"

"Zexion told me not to go to him. He said it would be too dangerous. Then he gave me a series of complicated instructions that led me here. He said that you would be better able to care for me. He seems to have been correct."

"I didn't want to train to fight so I trained in first aid instead. Do you need me to call Zexion or does he know you're here?"

"I'll call him in the morning."

"Well you need to rest."

He nodded and closed his eyes. Axel and I left the room, shutting the door behind us. We went into our own room.

"He shouldn't be here." Axel said as soon as the door shut.

"Why not?"

He leaned against the door, "He's going to get us killed. You saw what they did to him."

"I cleaned what they did to him. I saw it. But he's here now and there's nothing you or I can do. He's here to help us."

"But what if they followed him?"

"They'd be here already. Roxas is leading a formal attack remember? We need all the help we can get."

He sighed, "Rienna we can't take any chances."

"How about we don't make any final decisions until we talk to Zexion?"

___I walked over to him. Putting my hands on his chest, I looked up at him. He looked down at me, a serious look plaguing his face. I gave him my best kicked puppy look and he smiled._

_"__You win again."_

_"__Always." I giggled._

___He pushed my hair behind my ear with his fingers. He held onto the lock of it and twirled it around his fingers. His other hand moved to the small of my back, lifted the bottom of my shirt and traced small circles on the skin there. I wrapped my arms around his waist and put my head to his chest, closing my eyes. The hand that was playing with my hair stroked my hair and down my back. We stayed there against the door in silence._

_"__What are you thinking about?" he muttered._

___I opened my eyes and noticed he was staring at me, "I'm trying to figure out come we couldn't meet on the street instead of this way?"_

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__We met because you were sent to find me. I wouldn't have minded if we just met on the street. You know, we could have been walking down the sidewalk, going in opposite directions. It would have been me not paying attention to where I was going and I would have run into you. Then, knowing how you are, you would've given me some lame pick-up line and I would have pretended to find it charming. Then we would date and be here right now under better circumstances."_

_"__But it wouldn't be the same. We wouldn't be as close. You wouldn't live here with me. To tell you the truth, you probably wouldn't mean as much to me."_

_"__Huh?"_

_"__You mean so much to me now because you gave up your human life for me. You trusted me and no one else. You were afraid of Cloud when he first showed up but you weren't afraid of me, why?"_

_"__Because somewhere in me I knew I could trust you. I had to know you. When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me these stories. I didn't think they were ever true. She always claimed they were about me. '__He'll come to you in the form of your protector. He'll do whatever he has to so he can keep you safe. He loves but don't worry if he doesn't realize it. He'll be yours soon enough, all you have to do is wait.' _I didn't remember the rest until now. '_He'll fight for you. He'll die for you. He'll always let you win in a fight. You'll seem to live in a paradise until someone from his past messes with your happiness. Things will change. You will change for him. Your pain is his pain. His comfort is your comfort. You are made for each other and when you realize and accept that, no one can stand your way.' _And that was the end of it. My mother told me our story."

"Where's your mom now?"

"She died a few years ago. I've been on my own since I was fifteen. I was never sent to foster care so I was able to care for myself. This place has been my first stable home since then. It's difficult to stay in one place when you're too young to be on your own."

"I'm glad I could deliver your from you own personal hell."

"It wasn't hell but it wasn't easy. I was kinda surprised that you were my first."

"I was but it didn't seem to hurt you at all."

"It didn't. I was calm because you were calm. It's like we were one person. That must be why when Roxas hit you it hurt me more than it hurt you."

He hummed in response and nodded, "I'm cool with that."

Once again we stood in silence. I broke it this time.

"When Roxas showed up here the first time, you told him that you were dismissed from the Organization. But you told me you had left."

"When someone leaves the Organization whether by choice are not, they are dismissed. It just means that they are not and cannot be considered part of the Organization any longer."

I stepped out of his hold and went into the bathroom. I flicked on the light and turned the shower on. Axel stood in the doorway and flashed me that crooked smile of his.

"No, I'm showering alone today."

He sighed, "Fine. I'll see you when you get out."

"K."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

___He shut the bathroom door for me. I stripped down and got into the shower. I let the water run through my hair. I wash myself and my hair. I brush my teeth and do everything I normally do in the shower but after I finish I just stand there. I stand under the water. Then I start to cry. I drop to the shower floor and cry harder._

_"__Babe, are you okay in there?"_

___Axel knew I was the shower too long. _

_"__Are you crying?"_

___I didn't answer him. I heard the door open then the shower curtain was yanked back. I looked up at him and wrapped my arms around myself. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel off the door. He knelt down and wrapped it around me. He pulled me to my feet and carried me out of the bathroom. He put me on the bed and pulled me into his arms. I put my hands on his back and moved them up to grip his shoulders. I buried my face in his chest and kept crying. _

___He didn't try to console me. He didn't try to get me to talk. He just held onto me and waited for me to calm down. He didn't anticipate me crying myself to sleep. I heard him sigh as he shifted me in his embrace. He laid me down and his weight on the bed moved. The towel came off and my night shirt slipped on. He put me under the covers and kissed my cheek. The door opened and closed again. _

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___I woke up in Axel's arms. He wasn't asleep. I could hear him humming something. My head was on his chest. I nuzzled his chest and his humming stopped._

_"__Did I wake you?"_

_"__No, I just woke up."_

_"__Do you wanna talk about what happened?"_

___I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "There's nothing to talk about."_

_"__You had an emotional breakdown. I think that's something."_

_"__I don't know what happened. I just kinda happened."_

_"__And you're sure you're okay?"_

_"__Yeah, I'm fine now."_

___He started humming again._

_"__What time is it?"_

_"__Almost 2."_

_"__In the morning?"_

_"__In the afternoon. Zexion and Demyx are in the living room. I've never seen Zex smiling so big."_

_"__I want to see them."_

___I sat up and he stood up. I got out of bed and put on the articles of clothing he neglected to put on for me. We went out to living room to find Demyx and Zexion wrapped around each other kissing. Axel just smirked and I cleared my throat. They pulled away from each other and smiled at me._

_"__Good afternoon, Rienna." Zexion chided._

_"__Sup?" Demyx said._

_"__I see you're both doing well." I said, a smile trying to spread across my face._

_"__We are. Thank you for taking care of him." Zexion said taking Demyx's hand._

_"__You helped me. I helped you. Let's just call it even."_

_"__No you don't understand. Demyx and are made for each other just like you and Axel. Without him, I'm nothing. That's why I felt such animosity towards you in the beginning. There was a time when I had what you have. After they dismissed me, they wouldn't let Demyx go too. The only thing I can do is apologize to you for how I acted. You saved him and for that I am eternally grateful."_

_"__Zexion, you can stop apologizing. I took care of him for you."_

___He nodded curtly and fell back against Demyx's chest. His eyes closed as Demyx kissed his forehead. Demyx's eyes closed as he laid his head on top of Zexion's. _

___Axel grabbed my hand and led me outside. _

_"__They're so cute." I said._

_"__They are. They really love each other. Zexion left long before I did. I saw how it killed him to leave Demyx behind."_

_"__I'm glad they're together again."_

_"__I want them to stay with us."_

_"__Are you serious?"_

_"__We can give them your old bedroom. Demyx has no place to go but he doesn't want to go all the way to where Zexion lives. He wants to stay close to everyone. It's the first he's seen of so many of us. There's plenty of room for them."_

___I threw my arms around his neck._

_"__So is that a yes?"_

_"__Of course, did you tell them?"_

_"__They told me to talk to you about it."_

_"__Then yes, they can stay."_

___Axel and I went back inside and told them the good news. Demyx jumped up with Zexion in his arms. He spun him around and they both laughed. _

_"__But I have one rule." I said and immediately the celebration died out._

_"__What's that?" Zexion asked as Demyx set him on the couch._

_"__I don't want to hear your moaning and groaning all night long okay."_

_"__Oh you mean this… 'Oh my god, Zexion! Harder!" Demyx laughed after throwing a few moans and pants in at the end._

_"__Exactly, that." _

___I turned and went back outside. I heard a slap._

_"__You are such a dumbass." Axel scolded._

_"__It's not my fault you moan. That's why she assumes we do it too."_

___Axel hit him again. I leaned against the outside wall of the house. I listened to them argue about who made me believe they moaned. I walked over to the lake and put my feet in. I sat there until Axel called me in for dinner. Zexion made spaghetti. We all sat down at the table. As the boys started eating, I looked at all of their faces. I picked up my fork, looked at Axel one more time and smiled._

_"__Axel, Demyx was right."_

___Demyx and Zexion broke out in roaring laughter. Axel stared at me in disbelief. I smiled and kissed his cheek. His expression softened and he joined in the laughter as well._


	8. Search and Rescue

We moved their stuff into the house the next morning. I stood to the side and supervised as the boys carried box after box into the room.

"Aren't you going to help?" Demyx asked.

Axel and Zexion laughed as they walked back out of the room.

"It's your room."

"But Axel's helping."

"I do your laundry."

"Fair, I surrender."

Zexion and Axel came back in with the last boxes. Demyx took the one Zexion had and threw it on the floor in the room.

"So what how do things work around here?" Demyx asked, intertwining his fingers behind his head.

"Well first things first, there will be no sex in the lake. That spot belongs to me and Axel. But there is a tree house."

"But that's my tree house." Axel whined.

"I'll tell you what. We'll take all of the pictures off of the walls and let them have it."

"But_"

"Let me put it another way. I'm taking all of the pictures down. I'm burning the ones of you and Roxas. We'll get a nice photo album for the ones of you and me. Got it?"

He sighed, "Yeah, I got it."

Demyx made a whipping sound. Zexion chuckled.

Axel shrugged. "She's good in bed."

I looked up at Axel. I shook my head and looked down.

"I'll be back in a minute."

I went into the room and pushed past the boxes. I got down on my knees and looked under the bed. The box was still there.

I pulled the shoebox from under the bed. I sat back on my knees and opened the box. Inside were pictures of my family. I had pictures of me with my mom and dad. I had pictures of my brother before he was taken away. His eyes were aqua, his hair silver. He was my twin brother but he took after our father. My mother was dead. My dad left us a few years after my brother was taken. I stared at the pictures.

"I can feel you looking at me."

I looked up to see Demyx in the doorway.

"Who is he?" he asked me.

"My brother, he was taken from my family when he was just three years old. Would you like to see?"

He walked into the room and sat down in front of me. I handed him the picture. His eyes grew wide and he immediately handed it back to me.

"I didn't know he had a family." He muttered.

"Demyx, what is it?"

"I know who took him. Organization XIII has him now. They took him and gave him to a family and awaited his eighteenth birthday. I suppose after Axel found you they decided to take him early."

"They have my brother?"

"Yes but we have time. They're still waiting for him to turn eighteen."

"We turn eighteen in two weeks."

"We?"

"We're twins, Demyx."

"It'll be a fight to the death. Both of you will be ready in two weeks. It'll be you against him. When you face him, you have to get him to remember you. He'll help us if he knows he will kill you."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then you will have to kill him first."

I didn't know what to say. I put the picture back in the box and closed it. I grabbed the box and got to my feet.

"I need a minute." I mumbled as I left the room.

I knew I couldn't get myself to kill him. I would kill myself first. If I died, Axel wouldn't be far behind. I didn't want to die. I didn't want him to die. I couldn't kill my brother.

I went into the kitchen. Axel and Zexion were sitting at the table drinking Mountain Dew. I stared at them long enough for tears to begin stinging my eyes. Axel looked up me as he took of sip from the can. He set it down and was standing in front of me in little time. He took my face between his hands and held my gaze.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I used my free hand to move his hands. I shook my head back and forth and lost control of my tear ducts. I ran from the house and climbed the ladder into the tree house. I could Axel yelling from the house.

"Demyx, what the hell did you say? She just goes running out of the house crying her eyes out. She won't talk to me so what did she say to you?"

I looked back at the house and saw the looks on their faces. Demyx looked scared. Axel looked more hurt than angry. I saw Demyx's mouth moving and then Axel's eye widened. He looked up at the tree house window and I ducked down. I heard the backdoor slide open and back closed. I heard footsteps on the grass. I heard steps getting closer and closer as they came up the ladder. The door opened and Axel was standing over me. I clutched the box to my chest and forced myself to look up at him. The sunlight glistened on his tears. He knelt down in front of my and put his hands on my knees.

"We'll get him back. I promise."

"I'm the only one he'll listen to. Demyx said that if I can get him to remember me then he'll help us instead of them."

"Then you have to try. Do you remember his name?"

"Sephiroth."

"Then we'll get Sephiroth back. I'm not waiting two weeks either. Demyx and Zexion said they will help. We can get Cloud and Sora and Riku too. We're going tonight. I want you to go to bed tonight and know that when you wake up your brother will either be sleeping or out cold in the room down the hall."

"Axel, you can't."

"Yes I can and I will. If he remembers he has a sister, then he'll have no problem coming with us."

I sighed in defeat and nodded. He kissed my forehead and lifted me to my feet. I set the box on the window sill and opened it. I searched through until I found the picture I was looking for. It was a Polaroid of me and Sephiroth. I handed it to Axel.

"Show it to him. It might make him remember."

He nodded and put the picture in his back pocket. He left the tree house and I flowed after him shortly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Night approached rather quickly. In my living rooms stood six men shrouded in black. I covered Axel's tattoos with make-up. Zexion put on colored contacts, as did everyone aside from Axel.

"How come everyone else's eyes have to change and not Axel's?" Demyx questioned as Zexion put his contacts in.

"Because no matter what we do people will recognize him thanks to that hair of his." Cloud answered.

"How long will you guys be gone?" I asked, biting my nails.

"We'll try to be back before dawn. I don't want you sitting up waiting for us. I want you to take a nice hot bubble bath and go to bed. You can wear one of my shirts of you want." Axel said as he walked over to me and took my hands.

He kissed the backs of both of my hands and dropped them. He put his hands on my shoulders and slid them down my arms. He rested his hands on my hips and smiled down at me. I looked up at him and collapsed against his body. He was warm and his heart was racing.

"You're scared." I convicted.

"Yes, I'm scared that I won't return to you."

"That fear is irrational." Zexion said, "I promise you, Rienna that no matter what happens to us, we will get Axel back to you."

"Thank you." I said, looking at him.

Everyone started to leave and Axel held onto my hand until he crossed the threshold. He turned and kissed me. He held his lips against mine until whoever was driving honked the car horn.

"I'll see you when you wake up."

I nodded.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

He turned and didn't release my hand until I was out of reach. His hand slipped from mine and I watched him climb into the car and disappear up the street.

XXXXXXXXXX

I paced for a few hours. Then I took a bath like Axel told me to. Then I pulled on one of his t-shirts and climbed into bed. I tossed and turned trying to get comfortable but I just couldn't. So I got up and started pacing again. It was almost five in the morning when I heard yelling from outside.

"Where is she?" I didn't recognize the voice.

"Inside but she's probably sleeping." Axel yelled back.

I jumped back in bed and pulled the covers over me. The door opened slowly and I slightly opened my eyes. He was standing in the doorway, my brother. He was smiling. I had left the lamp on, which meant he could see my face. He walked over to me and his fingers brushed my cheek.

"My sister…" he whispered.

"Is she sleeping?" Axel whispered.

"Yeah…"

I felt his lips on my cheek. I let my eyelids flutter open.

"Axel…" I grumbled.

Sephiroth jumped back.

"Hey, babe, we got him." Axel was smiling at me. Sephiroth was hiding behind him, "She's your sister. Don't be afraid."

He stepped from behind Axel and looked at me. A smile spread across his face. He walked back over to me and knelt down by the bed. I kissed his forehead. I grazed my fingertips over his face and smiled when I finally accepted that he was real. I threw my arms around him he hugged me back. He picked me up and I laughed as he spun me around. My feet touched the floor and he still held me.

"My sister." I could hear the tears in his voice.

"I never thought I'd see you again." I muttered.

He let me go and took a step back from me. He had on nothing but a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His feet were bare. His hair was down to his waist in a braid. His arms were cut in several places but mostly his wrists. I lifted his hands to get a better look at his wrists.

"What happened?"

"They needed my blood in bulk so they slit my wrists. Every sample they took died, the cells, I mean. They told me I didn't have any family left."

"You have me and I'll kill them for hurting you."

"Rienna, they're ruthless people. They don't believe in mercy. If they still try to fight us, I don't want you there."

"Already you're playing the protective brother role?"

"I was born first, so yes."

"We'll wait and see who we need on the battlefield."

"I stick by what I said. I missed you baby sis."

"I missed you too. I'm not that much younger than you by the way."

He laughed and hugged me again.


	9. Secrets

___Axel gave Sephiroth the room down the hall from ours. We let him sleep the day off. Axel and I went to the mall to buy him clothes. He had nothing when he came to us. We went from mall to mall buying him stuff. We were gone for nearly ten hours and when we got home, Sephiroth was still sleeping. Zexion had already started dinner by the time we got home. We put the zillions of bags in our room. I changed into my house clothes and went into the kitchen. Demyx was sitting at the table drinking Mountain Dew and watching Zexion cook._

_"__What is that?" Axel asked, pulling his shirt down over his head._

_"__I don't know but it smells good." I said trying to get a look at whatever Zexion was stirring in the pot. _

_"__This isn't for you. This is for your brother. The food in the oven is for you." Zexion said._

_"__Well what's in the oven?" Axel questioned._

_"__It's lasagna."_

_"__What kind of lasagna?" I said wrinkling my nose as I peered through the glass of the oven door._

_"__Don't worry. I made meat lasagna and a vegetable."_

_"__Good. I cannot stand meat in lasagna." I said, wrinkling my nose again._

_"__Which is still so weird." Axel said, kissing me._

___Demyx made fake puking sounds. Axel shot him a bird. Zexion stopped stirring and added something else to the pot. _

_"__What is that anyway?" Demyx said before taking a sip of his drink._

_"__It is a remedy of sorts. It'll reverse the effects of anything they gave him. The sleeping happens to be one of those effects."_

_"__Speaking of, I'm going to go check on him."_

___I kissed Axel one more time and walked toward Sephiroth's room. I knocked on the door and I heard snoring coming from the other side. I opened the door slowly and the light shined on the back of his head. _

_"__Seph…" I whispered._

___He rolled over and I saw tears in his eyes. I walked over to him and sat at his side. He rolled over the rest of the way and sat up. I moved to sit behind him and he laid back on me. I ran my hand down now unbraided hair. _

_"__What were mother and father like?" he muttered._

_"__They were great. Dad, he made a great effort to protect after you were taken. There wasn't a day that passed where either of them waited for you. They loved me enough for the both of us. Mom used to say that she was glad we were fraternal otherwise she wouldn't have gone a day without crying."_

___He took my hand in his and played with my fingers._

_"__What of the rest of our family?"_

_"__Well, I don't much about what happened to Dad. He left when I was nine. Mom died a couple years ago. When I was twelve, she was diagnosed with liver cancer. I suppose we have some living family but I don't know where to find them."_

___He looked up at me, "Then you're all I have left?"_

_"__Yes unless you include Axel and everyone. Which reminds me, Zexion cooked something for you. He says it'll reverse any effects of what those people did to you."_

___He looked at our hands and smiled. _

_"__I've gone almost eighteen years thinking that our parents didn't want me. That's what my adoptive parents said. They told me that my real parents only wanted my sister."_

_"__Trust me. Our parents wanted us both. Sometimes it seemed like they wanted you more than me. After you were first taken, it was as if I didn't exist. Mom sulked around the house holding onto your blanket and crying. Dad was calling people all the time asking if they'd seen you. Even I fell into the depression of you being gone. I had nightmares for years. I slept in your bed almost every night. After Dad left, Mom took up drinking."_

_"__Which explains the liver cancer."_

_"__Yeah, after she died, I was alone. Then one day I was walking down the street and Axel and found me. He was sent to protect me actually. Mom actually told me about him before I knew he existed. I thought it was just her medication acting up. Now I have him forever."_

_"__I won't have to kill him them?"_

___I laughed, "No, you won't have to kill him. He loves me. I love him."_

_"__You're lucky, I guess. I don't even know if I'll find anyone. I've lived a sheltered life. I was home-schooled so I never got the chance to meet girls. I mean, how do I know I'm not gay?"_

_"__Well, we could throw a party. Our birthday is in a week. We could just have it a few days early."_

___He smiled up at me. I kissed his forehead and we sat there. I savored the time I had with him. I had missed almost eighteen years of his life._

_"__So what happened after you were taken?"_

_"__They gave me to this family. I didn't care for them much. I hated them actually. They put me in karate and martial arts classes. I learned how to fight. They, uh, raised me as their own but I knew they weren't my parents. I was taught everything from home. Then out of nowhere all of the people come and they kill my so-called parents. Then they take me and start experimenting with my blood. I was only allowed to remember certain things. Little did I know, it was some sort of drug they put in everything I ate or drank."_

_"__Time for dinner." Zexion called._

___Sephiroth sat up and got out of bed. He was a little unstable at first but eventually caught himself. I followed him from the room and to the kitchen. The table was set and everyone else had already taken a seat. I sat down next to Axel and Sephiroth sat on my other side. Zexion put our plates of lasagna in front of us and put a bowl of the "soup" in front of Sephiroth. His nose wrinkled as he breathed in the scent of it._

_"__Why can't I have real food?"_

_"__Because the narcotics they gave you do not support solid food. It'll only be for three meals: dinner tonight then lunch and dinner tomorrow."_

_"__How we do it this way: dinner tonight, then breakfast and lunch tomorrow? That way I can eat real food for dinner."_

_"__Whatever floats your boat, Sephy." Demyx said before shoving a fork full of lasagna in his mouth. _

_"__Do not call me Sephy."_

___Demyx stuck his tongue out at him. _

_"__Now," I said before a fight could erupt, "how did things go when you got him?"_

_"__Demyx led me to his room and I showed him the picture. He was more than willing to come with us. The others stayed behind to fight. Getting in was the easy part. Getting out was tricky. There's a code to get in but once you get caught they cut the power, meaning the automatic motion-sensing gate doesn't open."_

_"__But we got out." Zexion said glaring at Axel._

_"__What are you not telling me?"_

_"__Zex, she has the right to know." Demyx said, putting his hand on Zexion's shoulder._

_"__In order for them release us, we had to give them something in return." Zexion said somberly, his gaze locking with mine._

_"__And what was that?"_

_"__Every three months, if you all don't win the battle against Roxas, I have to go back there for further experimentation." Sephiroth said, his eyes glazing over. "If I don't go, they come here for me."_

_"__Can't we just leave? If we're not here, they can't take him."_

_"__We gave our word. This deal is unbreakable." Axel said, holding his arm out._

___I took his arm on my hand and looked at his wrist. There was a fresh-looking cut that was just beginning to close. I ran my finger over the wound and looked up at him._

_"__We gave our blood to seal our word, all of us did."_

_"__Axel, you should have told me this." I pushed my plate away from me and stood up, "I seem to have lost my appetite."_

___I went outside and walked to the lake. I stripped down to my underwear and jumped in. I stayed under the water for a little while and then broke the surface when I heard my name being called. I looked at the backdoor and saw Sephiroth scanning the darkness. He looked over at the lake and saw my clothes first then me. Axel handed him something before he ran over to the water and I ducked back under._

_"__Come out of there. We need to talk."_

___I swam to where he was sitting and pulled myself out of the water. He handed me a towel._

_"__Axel said you would react this way."_

_"__I don't like that they've practically given you back to them."_

_"__You have to understand that it was either me or you. I told them to do it. I see how you are with Axel. I saw his face when they presented the option. He was hurting just thinking about them taking you. I'd rather it be me going back and just re-experiencing what I've already been through."_

_"__But four times a year?"_

_"__It used to be every day. What's four times a year compared to that?"_

___I stared at him and thought about it._

_"__To be free and then to go back?"_

_"__I'm going back to save you. The thing is I won't have to go back if we can beat Roxas."_

___I nodded and he stood up. He went back inside and I sat by the water, thinking. I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see a man in black. I opened my mouth the scream but he put his finger to his lips. I closed my mouth and looked up at him._

_"__You will not scream. I am here to help."_


	10. Bound Forever To Be Torn Apart?

___I walked back into the house and to the bedroom. I grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it on as I walked to the living room where all the boys were sitting. Zexion was reading a book and petting Demyx's hair; Demyx was asleep. Axel and Sephiroth were playing go fish; they were sitting across from each other. I knelt down behind Axel and wrapped my arms around his neck._

_"__So you forgive me?" he muttered._

___I kissed the back of his neck, "Yes, I forgive you. I need you to come outside with me."_

___He put down his hand of cards and grabbed my arms. _

_"__What is it?" he asked, kissing my arm._

_"__I'll tell you when we're outside."_

___I let him go and stood up. He got to his feet and followed me from the house. We went up to the tree house. _

_"__Okay, tell me what's going on." Axel demanded._

___I knocked on the wall of the tree house three times. _

_"__Axel." The man said, lowering his hood._

___I had to hold back hysterical laughter as he revealed his pink hair and blue eyes._

_"__Marluxia." Axel gasped. _

_"__You look well, Ax."_

_"__Rienna, why is he here?" Axel whispered to me._

_"__I don't know. After Sephiroth talked to me, he showed up. I didn't know his name until right now. He told me he needed to see you. After I made him promise not to hurt you, I went inside to get you. I told him to wait up here."_

_"__I am simply here to warn you of Roxas' plans. He does not plan to hurt anyone but her." Marluxia said, pointing at me, "He is quite infatuated with you, Axel, and he will not take no for an answer. He assumes that if she is dead, you will like to rejoin him. He has spoken to Xemnas about it. Xemnas has agreed to forgive everything and allow you back into the Organization."_

_"__I am not going back! If Roxas wishes to hurt her, I will stand against him and fight for her."_

_"__Very well then but please, take this."_

___Marluxia took a chain from around his neck and gave it Axel. I took it from Axel's hand and looked at it closely. It was actually two chains. Each one had a half heart with a small crescent moon carved into it. The charms were held together by magnets. _

_"__What are they for?" I asked._

___Marluxia stepped forward and took the necklaces from my hand. He pulled them apart and put one around my neck and the other around Axel's._

_"__It will not do much to protect you. It is not magic. What it will do is show Roxas that you both are bound. The moon changes just as time does but your hearts will forever be a part of the other."_

___Marluxia stepped back from me. "I wish I could tell you more but Axel, I would advise you to keep her very close. Roxas wishes to avoid a battle; therefore, he may just try to take her."_

___Axel pulled me closer to his side and kissed the top of my head. Marluxia walked past us and jumped to the ground. _

_"__I will see you on the battlefield." He called before running into the dark._

___I looked at Axel. He clutched the necklace's charm in his hand. I reached up and grabbed the hand that was around the charm. He looked down at me and exchanged the charm for my hand._

_"__So what's his story?" I asked._

_"__I don't know. He was my replacement. I only know his name because when we were rescuing Sephiroth I saw his name and picture on the door of my old room."_

_"__But it seemed he knew you."_

_"__All new organization members are required to learn about the past ones as a safety precaution."_

___I nodded and stepped out in front of him. He rested his hands on my waist as I wrapped my arms around him. _

_"__Let's go inside. I need a shower and more clothes than just t-shirt."_

_"__Or no clothes but that's entirely up to you."_

___I laughed and we descended the ladder and went back into the house. _

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___Time seemed to move so quickly after Maluxia's visit. He came back again and again with more information on Roxas' plan. It was three days before the battle, the day of the party. Everyone that had become my family arrived at the house. Sephiroth seemed uncomfortable but he eventually fell right into place. I watched with a sullen expression as Sephiroth enjoyed his first birthday party. Axel handed me a Mountain Dew and kissed my forehead. He set a small plate of food on the counter next to me. _

_"__What's wrong?"_

_"__Look at him, Ax." I said, gesturing to Sephiroth, "In three days, we'll be fighting for his life. He doesn't even seem to realize what's coming for us."_

_"__Oh, he realizes it. He's trying to enjoy this for you so you won't be so worried."_

_"__How do you know that?"_

_"__He told me. He's so worried for you. He doesn't want you on out there if it comes down to a fight. He would rather you and I stay here. I can protect you and they can hold off what they can."_

___I looked at Sephiroth again. His gaze caught mine and I saw a flicker of the worry that plagued his thoughts. A grin spread across his face. He turned back the group of people he was talking to._

_"__Okay, I saw it. I see it. He's worried."_

_"__He's your brother."_

_"__That's what worries me the most."_

_"__He can hold his own. Cloud's been working with him, not to mention the martial training."_

___I nodded and sipped at my drink. _

_"__You need to eat." He demanded._

_"__I don't want to."_

_"__That's all you've been saying for days. 'I don't want to eat' or 'I'm not hungry'. You need to eat, Rienna."_

_"__Axel, no."_

_"__I'm not asking."_

___He grabbed a chip from the plate and held it in front of me. I gave him my best puppy dog face but he didn't falter._

_"__Open." He ordered._

___I opened my mouth and he out the chip on my tongue. I chewed it up and swallowed it. _

_"__Good girl." _

___I stuck my tongue out at him. We watched the party continue. By about midnight, I was becoming restless. Axel started shooing people out and everyone moaned and groaned their pleas to stay. Eventually everyone was gone. I changed into my pajamas as did Axel. Demyx and Zexion had been asleep for a couple of hours. _

___I climbed into bed next to Axel and curled into his side. He wrapped his arms around me and let out a deep sigh. _

_"__We'll make it, babe, just relax."_

_"__How can I relax?"_

_"__I can't show you a way."_

_"__Oh, can you now?"_

___He smiled that crooked half smile and nodded. He kissed my lips. He kissed my collarbone. He lips moved up and down my throat. I giggled as he pushed up my shirt and kissed my stomach. He kissed my waist, his hands grabbing at the elastic of my panties. His lips kept moving downward. Then there was a knock at the door._

_"__Sis, can I come in?"_

___I pushed Axel away, "Yeah, come on in."_

___Sephiroth walked into the room, the worry now clear on his face._

_"__I don't want you fighting."_

_"__I know."_

_"__I want you to stay here."_

_"__I know but I've told you that we'll have to wait to see what happens."_

_"__But_"_

_"__No, I don't want to hear it."_

___He sighed in defeat, "Alright, we'll see what happens."_

___I looked at Axel. He was glaring at Sephiroth._

_"__Did I…"_

___Axel nodded._

_"__Yes, you did."_

_"__Sorry."_

___Sephiroth kissed my forehead and left the room. I waited for the door to shut completely then climbed on top of Axel. My legs on either side of his body, I crushed his lips with mine. His hands, which were resting at the small of my back, traveled down and rested on my butt. He pulled his lips from mine and kissed down my throat again. His teeth nipped at my skin and I giggled as his tongue ran down the side of my neck. I could feel his smile against my skin. I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the side. His lips met my skin again, traveling further down the front of my torso. He rolled us and laid me on my back. He lifted his shirt off and threw it the side. He used one hand to pin both of my hands above my head. His other hand moved around my back to unhook my bra. He released my arms long enough to get it off me._

___He kissed down my body as far as his arm span would let him. He finally let me go when he wasn't getting where he wanted. He pulled my shorts and panties off together. His lips met mine again for a brief second and then moved down my body. He stopped at my waist and looked at me. He picked me up and put me against the wall. He got down on his knees and lifted my leg up, resting it on his shoulder. _

___He kissed my waist again and then his tongue moved over and massaged my sensitive area. My fingers tangled in his hair and my teeth bit down on my bottom lip. I moaned as his tongue began moving up my body again. His teeth nipped at my stomach and my breasts. His lips met mine and my hands slid down his chest and to the elastic of his boxers. I slid my hand in and wrapped my fingers around his hardened appendage. I moved my hand up and down and he moaned into my mouth. He got harder. He slid his boxers off and reluctantly moved my hand. He lifted me onto him and my legs wrapped around his waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He braced himself against the wall and moved against me. _

___His lips met mine for a short while until I pulled away to let out a soft moan. My teeth met his shoulder and I bit down. He sucked his teeth in pain. He moved us to the bed and laid me on my back. He moved back and forth inside of me. His lips crushed mine keeping the screams of ecstasy from coming out. My feet touched the bed and he rolled us. His hands rested on my waist as I grinded against him. _

___Some time later, he reached his climax before me this time so I didn't stop. He let me keep going, his hands on my waist still. I finally reached my end about a half hour later. I collapsed next to him and he pulled me into his embrace. He kissed my forehead and we fell asleep there._

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___There was loud banging on the door. I woke up to find Axel out of bed and myself back in my pajamas. Axel ran to the door and threw it open. Cloud was standing there, a sword in hand._

_"__Axel, Roxas is on his way. Marluxia sent me a text."_

_"__God damn it!"_

___Axel ran to the closet and threw a pair of jeans and a shirt at me._

_"__Get dressed. I want you up in the tree house." He said to me._

___I changed out of my pajamas and into the clothes he gave me. He reached into the back of the closet and pulled out two large two-inch thick boxes. He put them on the bed side by side and opened them. He pulled out a piece of Styrofoam from each box and set them to the side. He pulled out two large, spiked disks. He held them in his hands and spun one._

_"__What are those?" I asked, buttoning my jeans._

_"__Chakrams, my weapon of choice."_

___He looked at Cloud and nodded. _

_"__I'm not going to stay behind." I argued as Axel and Sephiroth pushed me into the backyard._

_"__Look, you're not arguing with me. You have no say. We weren't able to train you with a weapon so you can't fight."_

_"__But Axel_"_

___He cut me off with a hard, passionate kiss, "I'm not letting you fight. Please, stay here."_

___I just nodded. Sephiroth hugged me tightly and then ran into the house. Axel kissed me once more and followed Sephiroth. I climbed the ladder into the tree house and waited for whatever was happening to end. _


	11. Surprise, Surprise

___There's going to be a P.O.V switch here. It's Axel's turn to tell the story. _

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___She stared up at me with her eyes full of concern. I had to leave her behind. I told her I wouldn't risk her and now that Roxas was here earlier than planned I have to leave her here. _

_"__I'm not letting you fight. Please, stay here." I begged of her._

___She nodded. I stood to the side and watched as Sephiroth, her long lost brother, hugged her tightly to his body. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. He released her and turned to run back to the house. She looked at me again, nodded and I could feel her eyes on me as I followed Sephiroth._

___I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my chakrams off the bed. _

_"__Cloud, did Marluxia tell you where they would be?" Sora questioned._

_"__No, he only said they were heading this way."_

_"__Should we wait for them to come to us?" Demyx asked, tightening his grip on Zexion's hand._

_"__Like hell, Rienna's back there." I yelled._

_"__Then we shall take this at least twenty miles away from here." Zexion said using his boss-man voice._

___Everyone nodded and continued their preparations. Zexion gave everyone specific instructions. Cloud and Demyx were to take on the bigger, stronger people. He and Sora would take the smaller. Roxas was mine to fight._

___Everyone piled into the two vehicles we had. I went to the back door and looked up at tree house. Rienna was standing in the window, her back turned to me. I put my hand on the glass and wished I didn't have to go. _

_"__Axel, we have to go." Sephiroth said, placing his hand on my shoulder. _

___I nodded and followed him out the door. I climbed into the car with him, Demyx and Zexion. I looked out the window and back at the house as we drove away. _

_"__Maybe she was right." I whispered._

_"__What do you mean?" Demyx asked, looking back at me from the passenger's seat._

_"__I shouldn't have left her there. I'm going to be worrying the entire time."_

_"__She'll be fine." Zexion promised._

___I watched out the window until the car stopped. We were parked on the outskirts of an old town. The place was nothing but small general stores and a few motels for those just passing through. _

___We all got out of the car and grabbed our weapons. Cloud pulled up next to us shortly after._

_"__There is a large clearing about three miles out to the west. We'll continue on foot from here. They're tracking us and we made sure they could. We cloned Demyx's cell. It's got a tracking device inside of it. After it was cloned, we removed the device. As of now, they are tracing a cloned, encrypted number."_

___I stared back in the direction we had come. _

___Cloud looked at me, "Axel, you can take the car and go back if you want."_

_"__No, you guys need me."_

___He gave me his cell phone, "Text her. Call her. Just talk to her until we get where we need to go. If you insist on staying with us, we can't have you distracted."_

___I took the phone. He smiled and turned away from me. I slid the phone open to reveal the keyboard. _

_Hey, babe. ____I typed._

___ I found my name in his contacts and sent the message. Seconds later the phone vibrated in my hand._

_HEY! What's going on?_

_I just wanted to check on you._

_I'm fine. I'm just bored as hell._

_You can go inside if you promise to behave._

_There's no one here to do mischief with since you left me here._

_No guilt trips._

_Fine, but I'm going to do what I want._

_Just don't be too conspicuous._

_Sure._

_You're mad at me?_

_No I'm worried about you. _

_I'll be fine. _

_Just be careful. I'll never be okay if I lose you._

_You be careful._

___Then the messages stopped. I gave it about ten minutes thinking maybe she was just going into the house. When she never answered, I called. It rang twice before my call was answered._

_"__You should have stayed here with her." _

___Then the line cut off. I tried to call back a few times. Then the text messages started to flood in._

_I won't hurt her / don't come back yet / she'll be fine _

___Then the messages stopped. I put the phone in my pocket. I followed the others until we reached the clearing. Minutes later a group of black cloaked people stepped out of the trees across the way. All were cloaked in black. I could see nothing more than their weapons, which I did not recognize._

_"__Roxas brought the young ones." Demyx gasped, "It's a diversion. Axel, light the grass."_

___I spun the chakram around until it lit on fire. I threw it down and watched it roll across the ground, leaving a trail of fire behind it. I pulled back on the chain connected to it and caught in my hand. _

_"__We must go. We have to get back to the house."_

___Everyone turned and ran the few miles back to the cars. We piled in and turned around. We sped back toward the house. Millions of thoughts clouded my mind._

___Who had her?_

___What would he do to her?_

___What was he doing to her?_

___Will I make it in time?_

___I put my hand over my eyes and fought back tears. I looked at Sephiroth in the seat next to me. He looked as if he would lose his mind if didn't get back soon. As if by some magical trick of fate, we made it back home in half the time it took to get to the clearing. I didn't wait for the car to stop to get out. I ran towards the door and burst through. I heard screaming from the bedroom and I ran in, armed and ready to strike._

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___After Axel left from Rienna's P.O.V._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___I paced around the tree house angrily. I didn't want to be left behind. I slumped against the wall and put my face in my hands. Axel's cell phone lay next to my foot. It vibrated and I picked it up. _

_Hey, babe. ____The message read._

_HEY! What's going on?_

_I just wanted to check on you._

_I'm fine. I'm just bored as hell._

_You can go inside if you promise to behave._

_There's no one here to do mischief with since you left me here._

_No guilt trips._

_Fine, but I'm going to do what I want._

_Just don't be too conspicuous._

_Sure._

_You're mad at me?_

_No I'm worried about you. _

_I'll be fine. _

_Just be careful. I'll never be okay if I lose you._

_You be careful._

___I put the phone in my pocket and descended the ladder. As I pulled the phone out of my pocket again, I was grabbed and thrown to the ground. The phone fell from my hand and landed a couple feet away from me. I was lifted and taken into the house. I was nearly unconscious when I heard the ring of Axel's phone. _

_"__You should have stayed here with her." He said smugly. _

___My vision clouded and I was being carried again. I was laid in a bed and something cold touched my skin. I heard the tearing of my clothes. My vision slowly restored itself as I regained my consciousness. There was a man hovering over me, a knife in hand. White hair fell around his face. Golden eyes examined my body as my clothes were cut away. I jerked up quickly but he caught me and forced me back down. _

_"__Don't run from me, girl."_

_"__Why not, you sorry fuck?"_

___He shook his head back and forth slowly and smiled down on me, "That was only the first dose."_

_"__What are you talking about?"_

___He grabbed a syringe from the nightstand. It contained a milky white fluid. He put it to my arm and put the needle in my skin. My energy was drained from the first dose of whatever he was injecting me with. My vision clouded again and his lips met the skin at my neck. His breath against my skin sent an unfamiliar shiver through me. I was mad but I couldn't fight him. I screamed as his lips tried to meet mine. The bedroom door burst open._

_"__You best get away from her." Axel yelled._

___The man stood, his back turned to Axel. _

_"__Now, what do you plan to do? You can not kill me."_

___He turned to face Axel and I saw the expression on Axel's face turn from anger to pure hatred._

_"__Xemnas, what did you do to her?"_

_"__I did nothing and had you not interrupted, I would have done nothing she would not have liked."_

___Axel took in the look on my face. My eyes were probably glazed over, my face and body pale. I knew I was breathing heavily. Whatever Xemnas injected into me was burning me from the inside out. It was hurting but I couldn't feel it. A flash of light burst across the room followed by Axel's body. I had a sudden déjà vu moment of when Roxas first showed up. The only difference was that Axel fought back. He and Xemnas fought at the foot of the bed. I wanted desperately to help him but I couldn't move. Demyx came into the room and picked me up._

_"__No, leave me. You have to help him."_

___Demyx still carried me from the room._

_"__Zexion take care of her. I'm going to help Axel."_

___Demyx gave me to Zexion. He sat with me and my head rested on his shoulder. I could hear grunting coming from the bedroom. _

_"__You need to tell me what he gave you." Zexion whispered._

_"__I don't know what it was." I mumbled._

_"__What did it look like?"_

_"__It was white liquid. It looked as if it shouldn't have been thick but it was milky."_

_"__How much did he give you?"_

_"__Two doses."_

_"__Shit."_

___He laid me out on the couch and ran to the kitchen. _

_"__Zex, where is everyone?"_

_"__The clearing we went to was full of young Organization members. They followed us. About ten miles back, Cloud and those riding with him stopped to fight them off."_

___He came back to me with a glass of water in hand. He lifted my torso and sat down. I laid back on him and he used his arm to support me. He held the glass up._

_"__Drink this. It'll make you feel better."_

___I shook my head._

_"__Come on, you need to drink it. It'll put you to sleep but it'll make the effects of the dug he gave you wear off faster."_

_"__I don't want to go to sleep."_

_"__You have no choice. Now drink."_

_"__How are you so calm?"_

_"__I know things will work out for the better."_

___He put the glass to my lips and I drank its contents. I relaxed against his body and eventually fell asleep._

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___A few hours later, I felt my body shift. I was being held very tightly by someone. Tears fell to my face and my eyes fluttered open. Axel was where Zexion was sitting when I fell asleep. He was crying. I raised my arms and wrapped him in my embrace._

_"__Baby, I'm so sorry." He cried._

_"__For what?"_

_"__If I would have stayed here with you, this wouldn't have happened."_

_"__Yes, it would've. They would've watched us until everyone was gone and I was here alone. Nothing would have changed."_

_"__He was cutting your clothes off. Did he touch you?"_

___I shook my head. Zexion came into the living room with a syringe and two test tubes._

_"__Blood sample?" I asked._

___He nodded, a smile slightly spreading across his face, "I was hoping you'd still be asleep."_

_"__No worries, I won't resist. I'm too tired and too weak."_

___He knelt down in front of me. He attached a thin tube to the test tube then to the syringe. As I buried my face in Axel's shoulder, Zexion stuck the needle in my arm. _

___Axel chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "It's over." _

_"__What do you need it for anyway?" I asked._

_"__Just to make sure the drug Xemnas gave you didn't change anything within your blood stream."_

___I nodded and lay back against Axel. I closed my eyes and fell asleep again._

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___I woke up in bed this time. Axel had his arm around my waist. His breath was against my neck. I rolled over and kissed his nose. It wrinkled up and he opened his eyes._

_"__You okay?"_

_"__Yeah, I've just slept all day so I'm not really tired anymore."_

_"__What time is it?"_

___I lifted up to look at the clock behind him, "Almost seven. What time did you go to bed?"_

_"__About the same time as you, I think it was around ten."_

_"__You wanna get up?"_

_"__I don't know. Do you?"_

___He smiled. He kissed my forehead and then sat up. We both got out of bed and I jumped on his back. He carried me into the kitchen. Zexion was cooking breakfast._

_"__Why are you always up so early?" Axel asked, letting me down._

_"__Well, normally it is a couple hours from now. Demyx hates when I wake up early, but I have something to tell you."_

_"__Okay." Axel and I said together._

_"__Rienna, you seem to be pregnant, dear."_

___My eyes grew wide and Axel actually fainted._


	12. Back Again

_"__This is bullshit." Demyx said as he helped Zexion put Axel on the couch. _

___I was still standing the same spot, my eyes wide and my jaw dropped. After Zexion delivered the news, I was frozen and Axel was on the floor. I could still hear everything around me._

_"__I think she's in shock." Demyx whispered._

_"__And you would not be?" Zexion muttered._

_"__Of course I would but I'm gay so I don't have to worry about that. How long has she been like that?"_

_"__I don't know maybe an hour."_

_"__How do we make it stop?"_

_"__I don't know."_

___Zexion stepped out in front of me and waved his hand in front of my face. _

_"__Rienna, come back to us."_

___I blinked one and closed my mouth. I looked at Zexion then to the floor._

_"__Where'd he go?" My voice was a monotone._

_"__Couch. I tell you something. Carrying a six-foot-four man is one of the most difficult things I've done in a long time." Demyx said as he walked back to his room._

_"__Zexion, how did this happen?"_

_"__Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much_"_

_"__Not that! I thought when you were even the slightest bit Heartless you couldn't have kids."_

_"__I never said that."_

_"__Axel said that."_

_"__Oh, I see."_

___I gasped and walked into the living room. I punched Axel in the shoulder. He jumped up, looked at me and fainted again._

_"__Wake the hell up!" I yelled._

___He opened his eyes, "What did I do?"_

_"__You told me I couldn't get pregnant. You fucking lied!"_

___He shrunk down, "I'm sorry."_

_"__Sorry? You're sorry? Axel, I'm going to have a baby. We are going to have a baby in I don't even know how long."_

_"__About seven months." Zexion called from the kitchen._

_"__Seven months? Seven months!" _

_"__You say that like it's a bad thing?" Axel said, sitting up._

___I immediately calmed down. I sighed, "I don't think it's a bad thing. It's a little unexpected. I'm not even eighteen yet."_

_"__You will be tomorrow."_

_"__But I won't be any closer to knowing how to care for a child tomorrow."_

___He pulled me onto his lap. I laid my head against his chest._

_"__This won't be easy for either of us. We have seven months and we'll figure it out together."_

_"__You wanted this didn't you?"_

_"__Well, yeah, not this soon, but yeah."_

_"__That's a relief. There's still one little problem."_

_"__What's that?"_

_"__There isn't another room for a baby._

_"__Actually…"_

_"__What did you do?"_

___He didn't let me down. Instead, he stood with me still in his arms. He carried me down the hall and to the end of it. To the right was a door I'd never seen before. He opened it. It was a door to an empty room. One of the walls was painted white; the other three were just wood._

_"__When did you? How did you?"_

_"__All that time we spent out of the house, the others were in here."_

_"__Even Demyx?"_

___He chuckled, "Yes even Demyx. It was actually his idea. The room was always here but you've never had to go past Sephiroth's room. It was nothing more than storage. The others cleaned it out and started painting. With everything that was going, they didn't get the chance to finish."_

_"__Well now they can. It's over, right?"_

_"__Xemnas is gone. We don't know about Roxas though. He may come back and he may not."_

_"__Pregnant or not, I'm sure I can kick his ass."_

_"__Will you stop being so tough? You are carrying our child."_

___When he said it, reality hit me across the face. Seven months from now I would give birth to Axel's child. I put my hand on my stomach. How had I never noticed something moving in there? I smiled and looked down where my hand was._

_"__Axel, can you put me down?"_

_"__Huh? Oh yeah."_

___He put me on my feet. My hand never left my stomach. I felt the baby moving inside me and something about it calmed me. There was no pain so I was confused but I wasn't complaining. I grabbed Axel's hand and put it under mine. He looked at my face then his gaze quickly shifted to my stomach._

_"__Did you feel it?" I breathed, holding back tears._

___He nodded and dropped to his knees. He put his ear to my stomach and then gasped._

_"__What is it?"_

_"__I can hear its heartbeat."_

_"__Aw, I wanna hear."_

_"__You can." Zexion called from the end of the hall._

_"__How?"_

_"__Just let me make a call."_

___He called Cloud and as for a sonogram machine. About an hour later, Cloud brought it and some other things by the house. Zexion had me lay down in bed and then he hooked me up to some wires. Then he lifted the bottom half of my shirt. Then he found this tube of this gross gel looking stuff and squeezed it on his hand._

_"__This will probably be cold." He warned before spreading it across my lower abdomen._

___I shivered from the chill. I'm not 100% sure what happened after that. He pointed to a screen next to the bed and Axel and I watched it. We watched the small silhouette of our child move. I noticed a humming sound that didn't seem to be coming from any machine._

_"__Is that it?" I asked excitedly._

___Zexion smiled and nodded. I grabbed Axel's hand and shook it. I looked at him and he was smiling bigger than I'd ever seen before. I reached out, touching my fingers against the glass of the screen in disbelief._

_"__That's your baby." Zexion said a smile in his voice._

___I looked at him and returned the gesture._

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___The next few months were calm apart from the constant pain in my back as the baby grew. Axel was glued to my side. He got me whatever I required and sometimes more than what I required. He assumed that, because I was feeding two people, I needed enough food on my plate for two people._

_"__Axel, you're not helping. You're gonna make me fatter than I already am." I complained as he shoveled spaghetti onto my plate._

_"__You're not fat, hon, you're pregnant." _

_"__Stop feeding me for two."_

_"__But you're eating for two."_

_"__No, Zexion said I only had to eat enough for one person. The baby doesn't get the food. It gets the nutrients."_

_"__How long are you going to call the baby 'it'?" Demyx questioned before eating a forkful of spaghetti. _

_"__Until she says otherwise, I remain clueless. She doesn't. Since I can't figure it out without her, I have to do what she says."_

_"__Man, you are so whipped."_

___I threw a roll across the table at Demyx and it knocked the fork out of his hand. Spaghetti sauce splattered up into his face. I started laughing. Axel laughed with me. Demyx glared at me. Zexion came into the dining room and licked a drop of sauce from his cheek. _

_"__Yummy." Zexion laughed._

___Demyx's glared faded into a half smile, "I think I got a little more right here." He said pointing at his lips._

___Zexion leaned down and licked the "sauce" from Demyx's lips. Then they started making._

_"__My gag reflex is triggered easily. Can we not do this while I'm eating?" _

_"__Sure thing." Demyx muttered._

___He went back to eating his spaghetti. Zexion went outside. We ate dinner in relative silence. Axel tucked me into bed after my shower. He walked out of the room. I heard the television turn on. After a while, the sounds faded into nothingness._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

___Axel's turn_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

I sat in the living room watching TV. Then the doorbell rang. It was late so I wasn't sure who it could be. I answered the door and immediately shut it again. On my front porch stood Roxas. He began to bang on the door so I opened it again.

"If you don't shut the hell up, I swear I will kill you. Rienna is in the other room sleeping."

"I would have thought she was up with you."

"She sleeps a lot more now."

"Why is that?"

"I don't think that's any of your business. Now get out of here."

He walked past me instead, "Such harsh words for such a beautiful creature."

"Roxas, I swear."

"Punish me, Axel."

He pushed me against the wall and ran his fingers down the front of my body.

"Roxas, get the fuck off of me."

"You know you miss me."

"I'm happy with Rienna. I'm happier than I've ever been before. She loves me and I love her. Now get the fuck off of me."

I shoved him away.

"Tell me something Axel. Can she moan your name like I can?"

"A million times better."

"Maybe we should test that little theory."

"Roxas, get out!" Rienna's voice calls.

"Baby, you should be asleep." I scolded.

"Oh my, Axel you knocked her up?" Roxas laughs.

"I got her pregnant, yes."

I walked to Rienna's side. Her hand was on her stomach. "Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah, the baby was kicking. It woke me up."

"Go back to bed. I'll be in to check on you in a bit."

"I told you I would cut his junk off if he came back."

"Rienna stop."

I kissed her forehead and sent her on her way. I turned back to Roxas.

"You need to leave."

"This is too good. Axel you aren't fit to be a father or a husband, for that matter."

"But I am going to be a father. I've never been happier knowing that I'm going to have a real family. After the baby's born, everything will be perfect. You could never give me what she has. She gave up her human life for me. She's giving me a child."

"Let's look at it this way. She nearly got you killed. She very well ruined the lives of the others as well. I mean, if you see Marluxia right now…"

"What have you done to him?"

"I don't suppose that matters, does it?"

"That's it. I want you out of here. I don't want you anywhere near my family. Stay away from my house. Stay away from Rienna. Stay away from me. And you especially need to stay away from me child."

"I'll leave but this isn't the end."

I opened the front door and watched him leave. I shut the door again and leaned against it.

"Axel…" Rienna whispered behind me, "He's going to come back. He's going to keep coming back."

"I know."


	13. It's Over

___Axel_

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___We went about everything normally for the next few months but we were always weary of Roxas coming back. Rienna started calling me paranoid, although she reacted to the slightest sounds the same as I did. Whenever the doorbell would ring, I noticed that she would tense and begin to stare into space. I was usually able to bring her back to earth. She would look at me, smile, and go back to whatever it was she was doing. _

___We had one more month before the baby was born. Demyx and I painted her room and put together the furniture. Rienna decided to name her Miliana Jezebel. She would take my last name, Lunara. Zexion was running a couple more tests to make sure the baby was one hundred percent healthy. _

_"__Are you sure you're ready for this kind of responsibility?" Demyx asked._

_"__I love her and I know I can the baby a good life."_

_"__But_"_

_"__Demyx, I'm going to ask her to marry me."_

_"__When?"_

___I could feel his eyes on my back. I heard the paint roller hit the floor._

_"__After Miliana is born and we get used to having her in the house, I'm going to take Rienna out to the lake and ask her to marry me."_

_"__Finally."_

_"__What?"_

_"__Dude, I was expecting you to ask her months ago. She was expecting you to ask months ago. Which reminds, Tifa's gonna be pissed."_

_"__Why?"_

_"__Rienna said she wants me to be her maid of honor."_

_"__But you're a boy."_

_"__I know but she loves me more than Tifa. Plus, I'm gay."_

_"__True."_

_"__So did you tell her that Roxas came back last week?"_

_"__How did you know about that?"_

_"__I got up to get a drink and I heard you yelling at him. I watched everything."_

_"__So you know…"_

_"__That he kissed you? Yeah and I wanted to rip his fucking throat out."_

_"__I'm going to tell her. I just need the stress of the baby off of her. She can't handle this. She's very emotional."_

_"__I know. She needs to know, Ax."_

___I sigh and turn to face him. He was still staring at me, "Trust me, Dem, I know. I'm going to tell her but I don't want to put her through this. I can handle this on my own. Once the baby is born, she can fight. But until then I'm going to do what I can to get rid of him."_

_"__He's not going to stop, Axel. I still have a little pull in the Organization. Xemnas left Marluxia in charge in the event of his death. He'll deal with Roxas."_

_"__Marly was never good at leading people. Don't you think I've already considered that? He's letting Roxas call the shots."_

_"__Damn it. I can still try if you want."_

_"__I want to handle this on my own."_

_"__Ax, you can't do everything alone."_

_"__I know."_

___I went back to painting the wall. We painted in silence._

_"__Axel, you might want to get in here!" Zexion yelled._

___Demyx and I glanced at each other, dropped our paint rollers and ran down the hall. We went into the bedroom and I couldn't even move. Zexion had Rienna pinned to the bed. Her eyes were completely yellow. Her teeth were pointed. I was expecting her to scream but she just stared up at the ceiling._

_"__Why are you holding her down?" I muttered._

___She started shaking. It looked like she was having a seizure._

_"__That's why. Demyx help me. I need you to hold her down. Axel, come sit next to her. I need you to get her to look at you. Calm her down."_

___It took me a second to realize I was moving toward the bed. Demyx was already on her other side holding her down. I sat on the bed next to her and put my hand on her cheek._

_"__Baby…" Her eyes shifted to meet my gaze, "I need to listen to me. I need you to calm down. I don't know what's happening but if you don't calm down I don't know what will happen. You'll be okay. Zexion will have you fixed up."_

___I watched Zexion stick a needle into her arm. Her blood flowed into the syringe. It was pure white._

_"__Oh my god." Zexion mouthed._

_"__What happened? Zexion, what the hell is wrong with her?" _

_"__Go get her medication." _

_"__Zex_"_

_"__Just get it!"_

___I ran into the bathroom and searched through the medicine cabinet. I grabbed her bottle of medication and took it back to Zexion. He poured the pills out into his hand and dropped them to the floor._

_"__Damn it Roxas!" _

_"__What happened!" I yelled frustrated._

_"__Those aren't her pills. That's not what I gave her."_

_"__Then what is it?"_

_"__The anti-Heartless drug."_

_"__That's lethal." Demyx muttered._

_"__I know. It could kill her."_

_"__No!" I screamed. "That's it. I'm going to handle this."_

___I grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand and went outside. _

_"__Axel!" Rienna's voice screeched behind me._

___I wanted to cry at the sound of her voice screaming for me. I went outside and shut the backdoor behind me. I dialed Roxas' number._

_"__Hello?"_

_"__Come over." I said then I hung up the phone._

___I went back inside and went into my closet. I grabbed my chakrams._

_"__Axel, what are you doing?" Demyx asked._

___He had Rienna on his lap. She was curled up into a ball. His arms were around her. Her eyes were wide, still completely yellow. She gripped his upper arm tightly. Her breathing was heavy and quick._

_"__I'm ending this." I walked to the doorway, stopped and turned back to face my friends, "Take care of her and Miliana."_

_"__Axel, don't do this." Zexion pleaded._

_"__I have to end this. This will end whether it's me or Roxas that dies for it to end."_

_"__Axel…" she whispered, "please…"_

___I walked back the bed and put my chakrams on the floor. Demyx passed her to me._

_"__Baby, I want you to remember that I love you. Take this. Zex, reach into the nightstand drawer and grab the small box in the back corner." He did as I asked then he gave the box to me when he found it, "I want you to take this. Wear it as a necklace or on your finger. It doesn't matter to me. I just want you to have it."_

___She took the box from my hand and opened it. She looked up at me. Her eyes, although yellow, were filled with a fear I had only seen once before, the day we went to battle against Roxas. I kissed her lips. I knew she was scared; I could feel it._

_"__I love you." I muttered and gave her back to Demyx._

___I stood and grabbed my chakrams from the floor. I walked out of the room._

_"__Axel!" she called after me, "Axel, please!"_

___I tried my best to ignore the breaking in her voice as she continued to call out my name. I waited outside for Roxas to show. It had been an hour when he finally emerged from the side of the house. _

_"__Axel?"_

_"__Yes Roxas?"_

_"__Why have you called me here?"_

_"__I want to go back with you."_

_"__Really?"_

_"__Yes."_

___He ran to me and threw his arms around my neck. I hugged him back with one arm. My other hand was behind my back holding my chakram._

_"__Roxas?" I muttered._

_"__Yes Axel?"_

_"__See you in Hell."_

___I stabbed my chakram into his back and through his heart._

_"__Axel…" he choked out._

_"__Goodbye Roxas. You will never hurt my family again."_

___It wasn't until then that I realized I stabbed it through his body and into my chest. I pulled the chakram out with a groan and pushed him to the ground. _

_ "__This is the end."_

_"__I love you." he mouthed._

_"__I love Rienna."_

___Then he died at my feet. I dropped the chakram next to him and went back inside. I could feel my blood running down the front of my torso. I took my shirt off and walked into the bedroom. I looked at Rienna. Her eyes and teeth were back to normal. She saw me and her eyes grew wide. I gasped._

_"__Oh my god, what happened to you?"_

_"__I ended it." I forced out._

_"__Did he hurt you?"_

_"__I stabbed him in the back. The point of the chakram went through him and into me. Zexion, you wanna help me?"_

___I collapsed to the floor._

_"__He's losing blood quickly. Luckily he missed his heart. I can fix him."_

___Those were the last words I heard before everything went black._

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___Rienna_

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___I sat in the living room while Demyx and Zexion fixed Axel. It seemed like hours had passed before Demyx came to get me. I sat on the bed and moved Axel's head onto my lap. _

_"__He should be coming out of the anesthesia pretty soon. Just try not to move him too much." Zexion instructed._

___I nodded and looked down at Axel's face. He was pale, almost lifeless looking. I ran my fingers through his hair. I kissed his forehead. His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at me._

_"__You know, you should really stop doing this to me." I smiled._

_"__I'm sorry."_

___He brought his hand up and put it to my cheek. I put my hand on his chest; my fingers ran over the scar from when Roxas stabbed him. I looked at the new one. It was a perfect mirror of the previous one. They reminded me of the tattoos on his cheeks._

_"__So this," I said showing him the ring, "is supposed to be what?"_

_"__It was supposed to be a lot more romantic than that, our engagement, I mean."_

_"__Engagement?"_

_"__This isn't how I wanted to do it but I suppose I'll take what I can get. Rienna, I promise to love you for the rest of forever. I can only ask so much of you. So I'm asking now for you to marry me."_

___I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I nodded and they spilled over. He pulled my face down to his and kissed me softly._


	14. Seph, do you wanna hold her?

_"__Tifa, it's not that big a deal." I said trying to pry her arms from around me. _

_"__Yes it is! You're engaged. I have to get my maid of honor dress."_

___Demyx looked at me and started laughing._

_"__What's so funny?" she asked stepping away from me._

___I took a couple steps away from her and sighed, "Demyx is going to be my maid of honor."_

___Her jaw dropped and she looked at Demyx over her shoulder. She turned and walked past him._

_"__You know what that means don't you?" she taunted._

_"__No, why don't you tell me?"_

_"__It means helping her with the dress and the reception and everything in between. You know, helping her with the guest list and the cake and the catering."_

_"__I think I can manage."_

_"__What makes you so sure?"_

_"__I'm gay."_

_"__Dude, why do you always play that card?" Axel laughed._

_"__`Cause it works."_

___We all laughed. Zexion plopped down on Demyx's lap and kissed his cheek._

_"__You know, this reminds me. Zexion, be my best man?" Axel asked._

_"__Is all this really necessary? It's not like there will be that many people at the wedding anyway." Cloud tried to reason._

_"__Are you upset because you won't have a part in it?"_

_"__Just a little bit, I mean I've been with you from the beginning."_

_"__Cloud, will you give me away?"_

_"__I thought that would be a job for Sephiroth."_

_"__Well, I asked him if it was alright that you did it. He said he would be fine with it. He plans on taking pictures."_

_"__Are we going hire people?" Tifa asked._

_"__Yes, caterer and everything we can't handle on our own." Axel explained, "I also called Marluxia. He's bringing some of the more controlled Organization members you know the one that don't fight. He plans on helping with the set up and tear down of the wedding."_

_"__Axel, have you realized that everyone else was already preparing for this?" I asked, looking up at him._

_"__You guys knew I was going to ask her eventually didn't you?" _

___Everyone exchanged glances and nodded. Demyx spoke up._

_"__Axel, we could see it in the way you looked at her. We would've been surprised had you not asked her."_

___Everyone murmured their agreements. Axel just pulled me in for a kiss. _

___XXXXXXXXXXX_

___We settled on a date. Axel and I would get married exactly three months after the baby was born. Tifa insisted on doing all of Demyx's jobs. He was present for them all he just had no say in what was chosen unless his opinion was asked for._

___Miliana was due in two weeks. Zexion would deliver her. Axel and I were standing in her now painted and furnished room. My hand was on the wall. I turned to Axel and walked over to him._

_"__Axel, I want a cookie." I said, pulling on the sleeve of his shirt._

_"__You always want a cookie."_

_"__Can you get me a cookie?"_

_"__What kind of cookie?"_

_"__I want a sugar cookie."_

___His eyes met mine and we stared at each other for a second. He sighed and kissed my forehead._

_"__I'll be right back."_

___He turned and left the room. I stood there alone looking around the room. He came back in a few minutes later and gave me the cookie. I took a bite and looked up at him. He was looking down at me._

_"__What?"_

_"__Two more weeks and we'll be parents."_

_"__Okay, what's your point?"_

_"__You don't seem worried at all."_

_"__I've been carrying this child for almost nine months. I've been a mother for almost nine months now. Why would I be worried? She's our daughter. Granted we'll have to work through everything. She can't know about Roxas or Xemnas. I don't want to lie to her but she can't know about how we met. She can't know why there are no pictures of me and Sephiroth together."_

_"__We'll work it out. I can come up with an alibi that will keep her in the dark until she's old enough or until she absolutely has to know the truth."_

___We stood in silence as I finished my cookie. Then she moved. I put my hand to my stomach and could feel her moving. It hurt. I grabbed Axel's arm and groaned._

_"__Are you okay?" _

_"__I don't know. She's kicking but it doesn't feel as normal as usual."_

___I squeezed his arm and groaned again._

_"__Come on."_

___He helped me to our room and laid me down in bed. _

_"__I'm going to get Zexion."_

___I nodded and watched him leave the room._

_"__Axel…" I groaned._

___I could feel the tears falling down my face. My breathing grew heavy and I could feel my heartbeat in my head._

_"__Axel!" I screamed._

_"__I'm right here baby."_

_"__It hurts."_

_"__I know. Zexion's working on it."_

___The pain in my stomach kept growing. Then it finally registered in my mind what was going on._

_"__Axel, am I going into labor?"_

_"__Zexion, is she going to labor?" his voice seemed to fade out._

_"__I do believe so."_

___I heard a thud. Something told me Axel fainted._

_"__Demyx, get in here. She's going into labor."_

_"__Where's Axel?"_

_"__He fainted."_

___Demyx groaned and came into the room. _

_"__You just have to keep her conscious."_

_"__Shouldn't we wake him up?"_

_"__She'll be screaming soon. He'll wake up."_

___As if he summoned it, a raging scream wrenched from my throat. Axel jumped up and looked around the room._

_"__What did I miss?"_

_"__Your fiancé is going into labor and you passed out."_

_"__Oh god."_

___I screamed again._

_"__Rienna, push." Zexion ordered._

___Everything after that was a blur. I heard Axel telling me I was going to be okay. Demyx was gagging and Zexion would tell me when to push. A few hours later, I heard the crying of my little girl._

_"__Axel…"_

___He smiled down at me. In his arms, wrapped in a towel, was Miliana. Demyx helped me sit up straight and I reached out for her. Axel put her into my arms and I started crying. Her eyes were darker than Axel's but almost the same green. Her hair was thin and as dark as mine. She yawned and reached out to my face. I took her hand and she wrapped her fingers around my middle finger. I pulled her closer and watched her bury her face in my hair. Axel sat on the bed next to me. He put his arm around my shoulders._

_"__She looks just like you." he whispered._

___I looked up at him. He had tears in his eyes. I laid my head against his shoulder. We watched our daughter as she looked around the room._

_"__Miliana…" I whispered._

___She looked up at me._

_"__Hi baby." I smiled._

___She shook my finger in her hand. I kissed her forehead and gave her back to Axel._

_"__I'm going to sleep."_

___He kissed my lips and got off the bed. I curled up under the covers and closed my eyes. _

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

___Axel_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

___I took Miliana to her room. I put her in her crib and then called Tifa. I told her what was going on. She rushed over. She helped me bathe and dress Miliana. _

_"__You know," she said as she pulled a shirt over Miliana's head, "if you plan on being a father, you're going to have to do this stuff on your own."_

_"__I'll do it eventually but I've been a father for all of like two hours so yeah."_

_"__More like almost nine months."_

_"__Not officially."_

___Tifa lifted Miliana into her arms. She gave her to me._

_"__You should have been thinking of yourself as a father from the moment you found out she was pregnant."_

_"__I fainted when I found out."_

___I shifted my hold on Miliana, moving her head up to my shoulder._

_"__I know. You know I'm here to help when you need me but you need to be self sufficient." She put her hand on Miliana's back, "Make sure she knows you're her father and that you're there for her."_

___I nodded, "Thank you, Tifa."_

_"__No problem. You've been like a brother to me since the beginning."_

___I hugged her with my free arm. We went out to living room and I sat down on the couch. I sat Miliana on my lap. _

_"__Wow, Ax, I never thought I'd see you with a kid." Demyx smiled._

_"__But I have one. And soon enough I'll have a wife."_

___Sephiroth was sitting on the floor next to the coffee table. He glared up at me. Then his gaze moved to Miliana and his expression softened._

_"__I can't believe I have a niece." He muttered as he stood._

___He sat down next to me. His eyes stayed on her. _

_"__Seph, you wanna hold her?" I asked._

___He looked up at me with a nervous look in his eyes. _

_"__It's okay. She'll be fine."_

___I picked her up and gave her to Sephiroth. His eyes lit up when she reached out for him. His hair was in a braid that fell over his shoulder. She reached out and took the braid in her fingers then she let it go again. He brushed her cheek with his fingers and she blinked up at him._

_"__Don't look now but you're holding your niece."_

___Sephiroth smiled at me. I looked around the room and took in the sight of my family. My future wife was sleeping in our bedroom. My future brother-in-law was sitting next to me holding my daughter. My best friend and his boyfriend, the godparents of my daughter, were sitting across the room from me. I had a real family. Everything was falling into place._

___X-X-X-NOTE FROM AUTHOR-X-X-X_

___Everything seems very peaceful and happy. Roxas is gone. The baby was born and everyone's getting ready for the wedding. But you know I wouldn't be me if I let it end that way. Reviews are appreciated and who knows maybe I'll let a few spoilers slip._


	15. Final Arrangements and a Conspiracy

___Rienna_

___XXXXXXXXXX_

_"__Why is this dress so tight? I can't breathe."_

_"__Well, we can try another one."_

___Tifa, Demyx, and I went to a dress shop. The wedding was next Saturday. The dress I had on was one of Tifa's choices. It was a corset top and a very fluffy skirt. I pressed my hand to my stomach and tried to force air into my lungs._

_"__Demyx, what you got?"_

___He waved his hand and someone walked out with a dress in their hands. It also had a corset top but the skirt fell straight down. I took it back into the dressing room and Tifa helped me into it. I could breathe. We walked back out to show Demyx._

_"__Can you breathe?" he asked without looking up from the paper on his lap._

_"__Yes."_

_"__And what do you think about the bottom of it?"_

_"__Demyx, this dress is perfect."_

_"__See, Tifa, I told you she'd love it." He finally looked up a smile on his face, "You look great."_

___I sighed, "I'm getting married next weekend."_

___My head began to spin and I had to sit down._

_"__Come on now. Axel's fainted enough for the both of you. He had the same reaction when we went to get his tux fitted, but he actually hit the floor."_

___I nodded and stood back up, "What's left for us to do today?"_

_"__Nothing, getting the dress was all we had left to do. Everything is ready for next weekend."_

_"__So can we go home? I want to see my baby."_

_"__Axel or Miliana?"_

_"__Miliana, besides Axel's not at home."_

_"__Where is he?" Demyx shot me a clueless look._

___I went into the dressing room and Tifa helped me out of the dress. _

_"__He and Cloud went to get Marluxia and company."_

_"__Where are they all staying?"_

_"__Miliana is going to sleep in our room. There will only be about six of them, seven including Marluxia."_

___He hummed in response. I heard scribbling then tearing. He threw a crumpled sheet of paper over the door of the dressing room. I uncrumpled it and read what was written on it._

___Marluxia said that he had seen Larxene _

___creeping around. I don't know if it's true _

___but be on the lookout._

___Axel had said Larxene had died so I just assumed Marluxia was being paranoid, stress of the new job and all. If she planned to show up, she would come to the wedding. The conviction in such a thought made me dizzy again. I stayed on my feet and shook it off. I pulled my clothes on and Tifa and I exited the dressing room. I would have to wait until next weekend._

___I let myself clear my head during the drive home. We pulled up in front of the house what seemed like days later. Zexion came out of the house with Miliana in his arms. I caught sight of them and smiled. I walked over to them._

_"__Hi, baby." I cooed._

___She reached out for me and I took her from Zexion._

_"__She just woke up." Zexion informed me. _

___He walked past me and to the car. He gave Demyx a kiss as he got out of the car and then went to open the trunk. Zexion carried my dress. Demyx carried everything else. They put everything down in the living room. Zexion sat on the couch and Demyx sat next to him. _

_"__So which dress did she pick?" Zexion asked, running his fingers through Demyx's hair._

_"__Demyx's choice." Tifa muttered._

_"__Pay up, T." _

___I sat down on the floor as Tifa handed Zexion a twenty dollar bill._

_"__You guys bet on which I would choose?"_

_"__No, we bet on what you would like more. I said you would choose something that fell around you freely not something with a lot of pointless fabric. "_

_"__Well you both are just terrible."_

___I stood Miliana between my legs. She lifted her feet off the floor and grinned at me. She put her feet back against the floor and then fell toward me. I picked her up and set her in my lap._

_"__But you have made me twenty bucks richer." Demyx smiled, taking the bill from Zexion's hand._

_"__No sir."_

_"__I can work for it."_

_"__Ew there's a baby present." Tifa scolded._

_"__She won't know the difference." _

___Demyx took Zexion's face in his hands and kissed him. Miliana started clapping. I gasped and covered her eyes with my hand._

_"__What have you two been teaching my child?" Axel asked._

___I looked up to find him standing in the doorway. I stood up and walked over to him. He bent down and kissed me then he kissed Miliana's forehead._

_"__They have been teaching our daughter the beauty of gay love."_

_"__Mhm, well that's the last time you both babysit together."_

___Axel took her from me, "We got you a little present, Mili."_

_"__Did you now?"_

_"__Well Marluxia did."_

___Marluxia emerged in the doorway with a giant purple teddy bear. Miliana started clapping. _

_"__Wow." _

_"__Hey, she won't see me much. I figured I'd leave something behind."_

_"__It's nice to see you again, Marly." I laughed._

_"__You too, Rienna." He looked out the door and sighed, "Will you all get out of the car? They won't hurt you."_

_"__They're all afraid of you. They know what you can do to them." Axel explained._

_"__The younger ones are afraid but the older ones are more experienced leaving them less weary of you."_

___A tall blue haired man emerged behind Marluxia. His eyes were golden. He had a scar on his face in the shape of an 'X'. The man was staring at me. I stepped behind Axel and hid myself. _

_"__Saïx, be nice." Marluxia laughed._

_"__What did I do?" he asked softly._

_"__She doesn't like to be stared at. She acted the same way with Zexion when he first came here." Axel stated._

_"__I apologize."_

___I peeked around Axel. The man called Saïx was now smiling at me. I smiled back but immediately shrank behind Axel again when two more men stood in the doorway. One had long blonde hair and green eyes the same color as Axel's. The other had dark hair and bright purple eyes. The blonde's expression was much less furious than the other man's. _

_"__I'm Vexen." The blonde smiled. _

_"__Xaldin." The other one said._

_"__Rienna, you'll have to excuse him. He's not one for meeting people." Marluxia informed me._

___The last two were older. The other three moved out of the doorway. The first I was a lighter blonde than Vexen. It was also a lot shorter. His ears were pierced three times on one and two on the other. He had a beard. The other man was really scary. His hair was dark with gray streaks. He had an eye patch over his right eye. His left eye scanned the room._

_"__Where is she?" he asked._

___I didn't want to move from behind Axel so I just wrapped my arms around his waist. Axel chuckled and something told me he was pointing at my hands._

_"__Come on out, young one. We will not hurt you."_

___I stepped from behind Axel but stayed close to his side._

_"__She is as beautiful as you said Axel." The blonde smiled._

___I smiled him._

_"__My name is Luxord."_

_"__I am Xigbar."_

___I didn't say anything. I just stared up at them._

_"__She is very shy." Luxord chuckled._

_"__She won't be that way forever. I don't think it's you Luxord. Xigbar's eye patch on the other hand." Axel chuckled._

___I looked up at Axel. He looked down at me and kissed the top of my head. _

_"__Why don't you go sit down? I'll help them with their stuff and then we can call out for dinner." He gave me Miliana then followed Vexen and Saïx to the car. I sat back down on the floor with Miliana in my lap. Marluxia set the bear down next to me. I sat her in front of it and she laid back. Axel and the others came back inside and took the bags to the room. They came back out of the room and Axel grabbed the phone._

_"__Pizza or Chinese?" he asked._

___His eyes grew wide when he took in the full room of people._

_"__Pizza." Everyone said together._

___He dialed the number and ordered ten pizzas, three supreme, two sausage, two cheese and three pepperoni. We waited for about twenty minutes and then we sent Demyx to get the pizzas. He came back and we all crowded in the living room. Axel sat on the floor against the couch. I sat in front of him between his legs. Miliana sat in my lap. The heartless in her let her eat some solid food even though she was only three months old. She picked at the pizza in front of her. Zexion felt the undying need to take pictures so he did._

___The people from the Organization, excluding Marluxia, seemed to shy away from everyone. They ate in silence. _

___After everyone was done, Tifa went home. Demyx and Zexion went to "bed." A few of the Organization members went to bed. Sephiroth went to bed. I put Miliana down and she went right to sleep. Axel and I stayed in the living room. He sat on the couch and I lay down on his lap. _

_"__Ax…"_

___I knew he could hear in the tone of my voice how I was feeling._

_"__What's wrong?"_

_"__I don't like them being afraid of me."_

_"__They won't be forever."_

_"__And I heard a couple of them talking."_

_"__What were they saying?"_

_"__They were saying that Miliana should never have been born, that she should be considered an experiment versus a child."_

_"__Well I know is Saïx, Luxord, or Xigbar. That leaves Xaldin and Vexen."_

_"__Did Marluxia go to bed?"_

_"__No, he's out at the lake with Saïx."_

_"__I want to talk to him."_

___I sat up and Axel followed me out to the lake. Marluxia was in the water. Saïx was sitting on the side. They both were laughing. I sat down next to Saïx and Axel sat on my other side._

_"__Hello Rienna, shouldn't you be in bed?" Marluxia asked as he swam over to me._

_"__Well I wanted to talk to you about Xaldin and Vexen."_

_"__Alright."_

_"__I don't like them. You should have heard the way they were speaking of Miliana. They called her an experiment."_

___Marluxia's eyebrows pulled together then he looked at Saïx. "Did you know anything of this?"_

_"__Sir, it wasn't supposed to mean anything. They've been talking about his since you told us we were coming here. They heard you on the phone with Axel when he told you that she was pregnant. I had nothing to do with it and I don't know what they plan to do."_

_"__I told you all that this conspiracy shit was going to end with Roxas. I will not tolerate it! You should have come to me when you heard about it."_

_"__I am sorry sir."_

___I looked at Saïx. He looked scared. Marluxia sighed._

_"__No I am sorry. I should not take my anger at them out on you. Now, please go inside and send them out to me. I don't care if they're sleeping. I will handle this tonight."_

___Saïx nodded and went inside._

_"__I want you both to go inside. I don't want you out here when I speak to them."_

_"__No, I want_"_

_"__Come on Rienna, we need to let him handle this."_

_"__But_"_

___Axel picked me up then set me on my feet. "Tree house." He whispered in my ear. _

___He pulled me over to the ladder and we climbed up. We sat on the floor of the tree house and listened. Axel watched out the window and ducked down when Xaldin and Vexen came out of the house. _

_"__What the fuck is your problem?" Marluxia yelled._

_"__Sir, what have we done?" they said together._

_"__What have you done? What are planning on doing to the little girl?"_

_"__Sir, absolutely nothing." One of them answered._

_"__Vexen, I suggest you tell me the truth. Both of you are facing execution as long as you lie to me. Axel, Demyx, and Zexion were sent away. But I won't have that anymore. Roxas lied to Xemnas and now they are both dead. I am not one to be trifled with. Now tell me the truth."_

_"__Xaldin and I weren't planning on killing her," he paused, "at least not painfully."_

___If I knew Marluxia he was pinching the bridge of his nose now. His eyes were closed and he was shaking his head. I heard a loud slap followed by another. I peeked out the window and saw both Vexen and Xaldin holding their faces. _

_"__Inside! Both of you! I will further deal with you when we are back home."_

_"__Yes, sir."_

___They both ran back into the house. Axel and I climbed down. We walked over to Marluxia. He looked at us. I knew what he was feeling on the inside._

_"__I should have been able to prevent something like this."_

___I was right about how he was feeling._

_"__Listen, it's not your fault. They were the ones that messed up not you. You can't blame yourself. Axel and I both learned that the stuff that happens to us is no one else's fault but the people that hurt us."_

___He looked at me solemnly. "I suppose it should be that simple. We will remain for the wedding. I will leave Xigbar, Luxord, and Saïx here with you. I will take Vexen and Xaldin back and deal with them there."_

_"__Why not take them all back?"_

_"__I would prefer the others not see me in such an angry state."_

_"__I never thought I'd see you that angry." Axel said shaking his head._

_"__I do not like to be angry, you know that Axel. It is not in my nature to hit people but to insult someone's family by threatening their child is too much."_

_"__But you handled it."_

_"__Yes but at the expense of two more members. That only leaves five of us which makes us weak."_

_"__You are only as strong as your weakest link. Don't be that weakest link Marluxia. If you're going lead them, you have to be the strongest one."_

_"__I don't want to lead them. I'm doing what Xemnas wanted."_

_"__But no matter what Xemnas wanted, it's left to you. Marluxia they look to you for guidance. It's your job now. But they're scared of you which means you are able to lead them the way you need to."_

_"__I don't like to be feared."_

_"__But you are and it's because you are respected. Don't let yourself lose that because you don't like it."_

_"__You are right, Axel. Thank you."_

_"__It's what friends are for."_

___We all went inside and Marluxia went to bed. Axel and I curled back up on the couch. I lay down on his lap. His hand rested on my upper arm, his thumb stroking my skin._

_"__Better?" he whispered._

_"__Yeah." I yawned._

___I fell asleep on his leg. _


	16. Gotta Hate Wedding Crashers

___Tifa laced up the corset of my dress. _

_"__I am about to fall out of this thing." I laughed trying to make chest fit in the dress the way it was supposed to._

_"__That's what happens when you get pregnant." She said as she pulled on the string._

_"__But it fit fine last week."_

_"__Didn't Zexion make you try breast feeding?"_

_"__Yes that evil bastard. Now I don't fit in the dress."_

_"__Okay, I'll try loosening this again and then adjust yourself."_

___She untied the string again and I pulled the front of the dress up. I shook myself and finally made everything fit the way it was supposed to._

_"__Quick, lace it back up before I lose it."_

___She quickly laced it back up and it was about as perfect as it could get. I looked at myself in the mirror and got really dizzy. Tifa put her hands on my shoulders and held me up._

_"__You know you and Axel faint a lot."_

_"__It only happens when get put under high pressure situations."_

_"__I wonder if he'll faint during the wedding."_

_"__Don't even joke."_

___XXXXXXXXXX_

___Demyx stood as my maid of honor. Axel waited for me at the end of the aisle. He was smiling like a dork and I knew I was too. Everyone's eyes were on me and something about it made me feel special._

___***side note*We all know how weddings work so I'm just going to skip to the good part.****_

_ "__If anyone has any reason these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."_

_"__I have one." _

___I didn't recognize the voice but from the way Axel tensed, he did. I turned to see a blonde-haired girl with brilliant, tear-filled aqua eyes. Axel didn't turn around but I could hear the way he was breathing._

_"__Axel, I thought you loved me." _

___I gasped, "Is that…"_

___He nodded and bit his bottom lip._

_"__Axel, why won't you look at me? Look at me!"_

___He slowly turned, "Larxene, you're dead."_

_"__No I'm not. You left me there to die but I just turned into one of them. I managed to get my human form back. I went to see Xemnas but Lexaeus told me he was dead. Then he said that Marluxia was in charge and that everyone was here."_

_"__I watched them kill you."_

_"__I'm not dead, Axel!"_

___He was completely turned to her now, "Yes you are!"_

_"__Axel, she's not dead. Everyone can see her."_

___I threw down my bouquet and started to walk away. He caught my hand._

_"__Please, Rienna…"_

_"__What Axel!"_

_"__You can't leave me."_

_"__I'm not leaving you Axel. I'm leaving this situation. Tifa, will you come help me out of this dress?"_

___She nodded. I took Miliana from Marluxia and went inside. Tifa followed._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

___Axel_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

___Everyone was looking from me to Larxene. We were facing each other in silence. I watched Rienna walk into the house, Tifa on her heels. _

_"__Look at me damn it!"_

___I refocused my gaze on Larxene, "What?"_

_"__I thought you loved me, Axel."_

_"__I did love you, Larxene. There was a time when you meant everything to me. Now I've found someone new. I love her and you're making her run away from me. She is the mother of my child."_

_"__Child? You have a child?"_

_"__Yes, a three month old little girl, and I was about to have a wife."_

_"__Wow, you tricked yourself into thinking I was dead and then you fell in love with someone else."_

_"__I honestly thought you were dead."_

_"__But you didn't stay to check."_

_"__Why would I!"_

_"__She wasn't around then. You had no one but me to live for."_

_"__I had to report back to Xemnas. I wasn't the only one that thought you were dead. Xemnas told me to forget so I did. Then they brought me Roxas and I completely forgot. Then I left the Organization. I met Cloud and Tifa. I was sent to protect Rienna. I fell in love with her."_

___She laughed, "Cute." She stepped toward me. Within seconds, she was in front of me, "But I can see it in your eyes. You still love me. You miss me. You always have."_

___Then she kissed me. I pushed her away and wiped my lips with the back of my hand._

_"__What the hell!"_

___I pushed past her._

_"__But Axel_"_

_"__No Larxene! You have gone too far!"_

_"__I'll be in town for a couple more days. You have until then."_

___I shook my head and went inside. Tifa went out the backdoor. She was about the tell everyone whatever Rienna told her to tell them. I found Rienna in the bathroom. She was cleaning her makeup off. _

_"__Babe?"_

_"__I don't know why you're still in that suit. The wedding's off until you get rid of her."_

___She turned around and walked past me. She walked out of the room and I followed her to the kitchen. She grabbed a drink from the fridge and walked back to the bedroom. She shut the door in my face. I put my hands on either side of the doorframe and sighed._

_"__Rienna, you can't be mad at me for this."_

_"__Yes, I can. Instead of telling her to leave, you just started screaming that she was dead."_

___Something inside me told me she was pacing. _

_"__I'm mad Axel, but I'm not mad at you. I'm upset with how you reacted to her showing up here. You didn't seem worried at all, almost as if you didn't care."_

_"__I cared. I'm just as upset as you are. I don't like this anymore than you do. She's forcing me to make a choice. Over the next couple of days, she's expecting me to change my mind about you and choose her. But I won't. I'm going to tell her to leave and to never come back. Rienna, I told you that I would love you forever and I plan to."_

_"__How do I know that Larxene won't just keep coming back?"_

_"__I can handle her the way I handled Roxas."_

_"__Axel, I don't want you to kill her. She's just jealous. Roxas was ridiculous. I just want her gone for good."_

_"__I'll take care of it. Now there must be something for me to do for you to unlock the door."_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

___Rienna_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

___I thought about what he was offering. I walked to the desk and grabbed a sheet of paper from the printer. I wrote my only demand on it and folded it up. I walked to the door and slid it under. I could hear the paper being unfolded as I started pacing again then he chuckled._

_"__Peach flavored gummi rings? That's what you want?"_

_"__Well you could always just sleep on the couch for, I don't know how long. And if I ever want sex, I can have a threesome with a couple of gay men. Sex with them won't mean a thing. I mean it's just a short walk up the hallway."_

___He gasped, "You wouldn't?"_

_"__Ah, but I would. Axel, I suggest you get what I want."_

___***side note from the author*** I happen to be eating peach flavored gummi rings at the moment***_

_"__Alright, I'll be back."_

___His footsteps disappeared up the hallway. I stopped pacing and unlocked the door when I was sure he was gone. Someone knocked on the door as I climbed into bed._

_"__Hey, can we come in?" _

___It was Demyx at the door with Zexion close behind him. _

_"__Yeah, I guess."_

___They came in and sat on the bed next to me._

_"__We are so sorry." Demyx sighed._

_"__Why?"_

_"__Because of her. We should have listened to Marluxia and kept our guard up." _

_"__But we didn't and she came here and ruined my fucking wedding."_

___Miliana started crying. I got out of bed and picked her up out of her crib. I sat back down on the bed and bounced her in my arms. _

_"__Dem, can you go make her a bottle?" I asked._

___He nodded and left the room._

_"__Zexion, I need you to listen to me. If she comes back here, I need to be my strongest. Axel killed Roxas. I have to take care of Larxene. If something happens to me, I need you to take care of her the way I do."_

_"__I will but that's crazy."_

_"__No it's not. Just like Axel did, he gave me the ring and was prepared to sacrifice himself for me. If I have to die for this to end, then I'll do it."_

_"__Rienna_"_

_"__Zexion, you're not talking me out of it. I'm sorry but you can't."_

___I shifted my hold on Miliana as Demyx came back into the room. He handed me the bottle and I started feeding Miliana. _

_"__Rienna you're being stupid." Demyx said into the silence._

___I looked at him is disbelief._

_"__It's a big house but I'm not deaf."_

_"__Well then what do you suggest I do?"_

_"__Get to her before she gets to you."_

_"__What?"_

_"__You're willing to wait for her to come here. Why don't you go to her?"_

_"__Demyx, that's barely practical." Zexion interjected._

_"__No, it's not. If she can figure out where Larxene is hiding then she can get to her first."_

_"__Axel will kill you when he finds out."_

_"__It'll be his fault I went."_

_"__That'll only make things more difficult."_

_"__That's a risk I'm willing to take. Larxene needs to be dealt with and I plan on being the person to deal with her."_

_"__I'm just saying for you to think about it before you do something you'll regret or something that will ruin everything you have now." _

___I looked down at Miliana. Zexion was right. I could lose her and Axel if I went after Larxene. I could just let Axel do what he had to do to get rid of her and then everything would be fine.  
_

_"__Fine, I won't do it unless I absolutely have to."_

_"__Good. Let's go Demy. Time for bed."_

_"__But it's still early."_

_"__Not that kind of bed, stupid."_

_"__Oh… I call tops."_

_"__Okay… ewww."_

___They left the room and I laid Miliana down after she finally went back to sleep. Axel came into the room a few minutes later, my precious bribe in hand. He handed me the bag and I set it on the nightstand. _

_"__Are we going to talk about this now?"_

_"__Axel, there's nothing to talk about. I'm going to handle this not you. If I need your help then I'll ask for it but until then, I will take care of this on my own."_

_"__But you don't know how she is. Let me handle this. I won't risk you."_

_"__It's not your risk. It's mine. If it's what I have to do to protect my family, then it's what I will do. I'm ending this whether it has to be me or Larxene that dies for it to end."_

_"__No."_

_"__Axel, why do you insist on arguing with me?"_

_"__Because I've already figured out how this will end."_

_"__How then?"_

_"__Marluxia is going to take her back to Organization headquarters and have her executed there. Technically, Larxene still belongs to the Organization so Marluxia can order her to do as he says."_

_"__But she's been 'dead' for years now."_

_"__But know that we know she's alive, she has to be formerly dismissed."_

_"__You ruin everything."_

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__I wanted to do this."_

_"__And I wanted to keep you safe."_

_"__We'll try it your way but if it doesn't work, I'm kicking her ass."_

_"__She'll be all yours."_

___He started to take off his shoes and change. He tried to climb into the bed when he was done but I stopped him._

_"__You're still sleeping on the couch. You haven't been completely forgiven yet."_

_"__Are you kidding me?"_

_"__Nope, now go. If I get lonely, I'll wake you up."_

___He groaned. Then he grabbed a pillow from the bed and blanket from the closet. He left the room and I got up to shut the door behind him. I heard him slam the pillow down on the couch._

_"__Damn it." He muttered._

___I smiled before closing the door._


	17. Go Away And Stay Away

___It had been three days since the wedding. Axel slept on the couch each night. Every night he would stand in the doorway to our room and ask if he could sleep in the bed and I would tell him no. Marluxia took Vexen, Xaldin, and Larxene back with him. _

___I was getting ready for bed. Axel stepped into the doorway._

_"__Can I please sleep in here tonight?"_

_"__No."_

_"__Why not? She's gone."_

_"__Until Marluxia calls and says that she is dealt with, you will remain on the couch."_

_"__Can I at least sit in here for a little while?"_

___I sighed, "I guess."_

___He sat on the bed next to me. He put his hand on my back._

_"__What's wrong?" he muttered._

_"__Do you think we should have done more to wait?"_

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__I was barely eighteen when I got pregnant. Then Roxas showed up and that went so well. We try to get married and Larxene shows up. Maybe if we would have waited a little longer it wouldn't have happened this way."_

_"__Well what if we had just met on the street? We wouldn't have anything we have now."_

_"__If we had met on the street, I wouldn't live with you. We wouldn't have our daughter. We wouldn't be as close. I probably wouldn't mean as much to you because I never would have had to give up my human life for you."_

_"__Did you ever think that maybe things are supposed to happen like this so that when it's all over we can live happily ever after?"_

_"__But when is it going to end?"_

_"__I don't know but it will."_

___I sighed and fell against him, "You can sleep in here tonight. I don't want to be alone."_

_"__Thank you."_

_"__Lay down." I demanded._

___He shifted so he was lying on his back. I climbed on top of him, placing my legs on either side of his body, and laid my head on his chest. His chest rose and fell with his breathing. One of his hands rested on my back. The other was on my neck. His fingers traced small circles on the skin there. _

_"__Why are you breathing so hard?" he muttered._

_"__I'm not."_

_"__Yes, you are."_

_"__No, I'm not."_

___I sat up and listened. It was Miliana's breathing not mine. I got off of Axel and walked to Miliana's crib. She was breathing loudly but her breathing was even. I picked her up and walked back to the bed. Axel was still lying down. I laid Miliana on his chest. She opened her eyes and got up on her hands and knees. She wobbled and then fell back against him. She tried again and managed to stay up. She crawled on him. She stopped when her hands were on his face._

___She smiled at him and hit his cheek. He laughed when she fell against him again. He sat up, picked her up and set her on the mattress. She started crawling around. I smiled at them and climbed onto the bed. I sat down next to Axel and we watched out daughter crawl around on the bed._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Axel_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

_"__I thought you were going to handle this!" I yelled at Marluxia._

___I called to find out what was happening with Larxene. Rienna was out back with Miliana so I thought it would be a good time._

_"__I tried to but she disappeared."_

_"__How does someone just disappear?"_

_"__I don't know. I sent Lexaeus to get her and he came back saying she was gone. We don't know when she escaped; therefore, we do not know where she is."_

_"__Axel!"_

___Rienna burst into the room. She put Miliana in her crib and then went to the closet. She reached up onto the shelf and brought a small box down. She opened it to reveal a decent sized knife from the box. She started walking back to the door. I grabbed her forearm and turned her back to face me._

_"__What's going on?" _

_"__I'm ending this once and for all."_

_"__What's happened?"_

_"__Let me handle it."_

___She pulled away from me and ran down the hall. I heard screaming and then a loud thud. _

_"__I call you back in a little while." _

___I ended the call and threw my phone on the bed. I chased after her. When I found her she had a knife to Larxene's throat. I stood in the back doorway and watched her. Her irises had turned yellow and her teeth had gone sharp._

_"__I'm going to tell you like I told Roxas. Stay away from my fucking family! This knife in my hand is definitely not a toy. I will kill you without blinking an eye."_

___She moved the knife from her throat and cut Larxene's face. _

_"__The scar that leaves better remind you of this every time you look in the mirror."_

___Rienna grabbed her hair and climbed off of her. She pulled Larxene up to her feet and threw her back to the ground._

_"__Now get the fuck out of here. If I ever see your face, this knife with be in your heart."_

___Larxene scrambled to her feet and ran away, her hand on her face._

_"__Babe?" I muttered._

___Her eyes focused on me. I could see the brown of her irises slowly fading back. _

_"__Ax?" she breathed._

___She dropped the blade at her side and reached out for me. I walked to her and she wrapped her arms around my waist. I held her close. I could feel her heartbeat against my body. _

_"__Calm down." I said before I kissed the top of her head, "I've never seen you so pissed." _

_"__I'm not pissed off. I'm jealous."_

___I could hear the tears in her voice. She looked up at me and her eyes were back to normal as were her teeth._

_"__You have nothing to be jealous about."_

_"__Yes I do. She was your first everything."_

_"__But you are the mother of first my child. You are the one I want to marry."_

_"__But that would have been her had you not thought she was dead."_

_"__No because I would have left the Organization and her if she did not choose to come with me. Knowing her, she wouldn't have. Then everything after that would have been the same." I held her a little closer than arms length. "Now tell me what happened."_

_"__Miliana and I were playing by the lake and then Larxene was knelt down behind me. I punched her in the face a few times and she passed out. I grabbed Miliana, brought her in the house, and grabbed the knife. Somewhere on my way back out here, I shifted to my half-Heartless form. Anything after that was a blur. I only remember seeing you when you called my name."_

_"__Well, are you okay now?"_

_"__I think so."_

_"__Let's go inside. I think you should lie down."_

_"__I'm fine."_

___She stepped away from me and swayed with each step. I reached out and she grabbed my shoulders. _

_"__I think I should lie down." She muttered._

___I picked her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist and laid her head on my shoulder. _

_"__I don't want to go to the bed. Go to the couch." She mumbled._

___I walked to the couch and sat down. She unwrapped her legs from around me but stayed on my lap. Her knees were bent and her legs rested on either side of my body. Her head stayed on my shoulder._

_"__Is she okay?" Sephiroth asked as he sat next to me on the couch. _

___He sat on the side she was facing. She turned her face into my neck and I could feel her tears on my skin._

_"__She just went off on Larxene."_

___He looked at me wide-eyed. _

_"__When?"_

_"__Larxene came here while Rienna was out back with Miliana. One minute everything's fine and then Rienna comes into the bedroom, puts Miliana in her crib and then gets a knife from the closet. I follow her back outside and she got Larxene on the ground with the blade to her throat."_

_"__Did she… you know…" he traces his finger across his throat._

_"__No, she told Larxene that if she ever comes back then she would."_

___Rienna shifted her body and her faze nuzzled my neck. She stifled a sniffle. I ran my hand down her hair and to the small of her back. _

_"__Shh… it's okay." I whispered to her. _

___She sat up and looked from me to Sephiroth._

_"__I hate you." she whispered._

_"__Babe, are you okay?" _

___She looked at me again, "I hate them."_

_"__Axel, what is she talking about?"_

_"__Why does this keep happening to me? To us? First Roxas and now Larxene." Her voice cracked, "I'm not that kind of person. I don't threaten people. I don't get jealous. I used to be able to walk down the street and not wonder if I'm being followed." She threw her arms around my neck and started crying hysterically. "What's happening to me?"_

_"__Nothing."_

___I stood up and her legs wrapped back around me. I carried her to the bedroom and laid her down. She curled up. I took Miliana from her crib and sat her next to Rienna._

_"__Look at our daughter. She could have been hurt had you not dealt with Larxene. I could have gotten hurt had you not dealt with Roxas. There is nothing wrong with you."_

___She touched Miliana's leg with her fingers. Miliana took her index finger into her hand. Rienna kissed her fisted hand. _

_"__Don't you get it? You've done everything you have for our family."_

_"__I understand that. I've protected my family but at what cost? I lose myself every time I get too pissed off."_

_"__You made the choice. You knew the risks. Forever is what you wanted and forever is what you got. I love you and I know she loves you." I told her, looking to Miliana. _

_"__Axel, I know. I made the choice for us. She wasn't exactly planned but I made it for her too. I know what I've become and what I've become is not what my problem is."_

_"__Then what is it because I don't understand."_

_"__My problem is that I lose myself whenever I get mad. I lose control every time someone pushes me over the edge. I'm very unstable."_

_"__But instability is why I love you. If everything with us was perfect, where would the fun be?"_

_"__I guess you're right."_

___Miliana crawled onto her and Rienna laughed. She picked her up and carried her back to her crib. I watched Miliana pulled herself up on the side of the crib and reached up to Rienna with one hand. Rienna picked her up and held her. _

_"__You want to come outside with us?" She asked walking out the door._

___I followed her. We sat down by the lake. Rienna and I sat close. Miliana held Rienna's hand._

_"__Mama…" she mumbled._

_"__Ax, did you hear that?"_

___She picked Miliana up and looked at her. _

_"__Mama…" Miliana mumbled again._

_"__Oh my gosh." I smiled._

___Miliana from Rienna to me and smiled._

_"__Great now she's talking."_

_"__Time to keep her away from Demyx?"_

_"__Yeah, that is probably a good idea."_


	18. We Have A Problem

_"__How about a quick trip to Vegas?" Cloud suggested._

_"__You know, I'm kind of on his side right now." I agreed._

_"__That would be better but Tifa would never let us live it down. She's decided that in two weeks we will try the wedding again." Rienna stated._

_"__But it's been months."_

___It had been months. Miliana was about to be a year old._

_"__Which means we can go through with it without Larxene because she's not coming back."_

___Cloud disappeared out back with Tifa behind him. Sora, Kairi, and Riku followed them shortly. Luxord, Saïx and Xigbar were getting ready to go back home. Rienna hugged Saïx first. Then she moved on to Xigbar and finally Luxord. _

_"__We will return young one. We just need to check on things at home. Marluxia and Lexaeus have been there alone with the trainees. They need us rather badly actually."_

___He ruffled her hair and stepped back from her. He kissed her forehead. And they all turned to leave. Rienna jumped onto my back. _

_"__You okay?" I asked laughing._

_"__Yeah, take me to the couch."_

___I walked her over to the couch and she dropped off of me._

_"__Why did I have to carry you again?"_

_"__Cause you love me."_

___That had been her excuse for everything lately. _

___Demyx came into the room practically breathless. "Rienna, we have a problem."_

_"__What is it?"_

_"__Just get out back."_

___He ran down the hallway and ran back down the hallway with Zexion in tow. Rienna stood and ran to the back door. She gasped and then ran to the bedroom. I followed her._

_"__Ax, get your chakrams."_

_"__What's going on?"_

_"__Larxene came back and she brought friends this time."_

___I ran into the closet and founded the boxes containing my chakrams._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Rienna_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___I warned her and now she's back again. I found the knife I had held at her throat. Axel dug his chakrams out of the closet. I ran out of the room and to the backyard. I could feel myself changing._

_"__Where is she?" I yelled._

___I could smell her now. I turned to see her staring at me. The cut I had put on her face the last time we met was now a dark scar. _

_"__I warned you." I growled._

_"__So you did. You do not scare me Rienna."_

_"__Really?"_

_"__When you're gone, Axel will come back to me."_

___An evil grin spread across her face and I lunged at her._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Axel_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___When I finally made it outside, Rienna had Larxene on the ground._

_"__Admit it!" Larxene yelled in her face._

_"__Admit what you crazy bitch?"_

_"__That you are no more than Axel's second choice."_

_"__He loves me! He is my daughter's father and he is my fiancé."_

_"__You seem unsure."_

___Rienna jammed the knife into Larxene's shoulder. Larxene cried out in pain._

_"__Why don't you just kill me?"_

_"__I want you to feel pain before I end your life."_

_Everything else seemed under control so I thought I would try to bring Rienna back far enough to just end this. I walked over to her and knelt down beside her._

_"__Ax, don't touch me." She mumbled._

___She and Larxene stared at each other._

_"__Tell her, Axel. Tell her what you told me all those years ago." Larxene laughed._

_"__What are you talking about?"_

_"__Tell her how you said no matter what happened I would always be in your heart and I would always mean more to you than anyone."_

_"__When I said that, I didn't know she existed. You mean nothing to me now. I'm done with you Larxene and have been for years. Rienna, love, you have to end this."_

___She blinked and pulled the knife out of Larxene's shoulder. She put the side of the blade to Larxene's throat and finished her. Rienna sat there and watched Larxene bleed out._

_"__Axel, take her inside." Zexion called from across the yard._

___I pulled Rienna up and took the knife from her hands. I looked around to see everyone fighting at least two people. I picked Rienna up and ran her inside because she wouldn't take a step. I sat her on the couch and crouched down in front of her. Her eyes were normal and they met mine but her gaze was distant._

_"__Rienna?" I whispered._

___She blinked._

_"__Rienna?"_

___Her lips twitched._

_"__Baby?"_

___She blinked again. I shook her a little bit._

_"__Axel…" she whispered._

_"__Are you okay?"_

_"__Yes but you won't be if you shake me again."_

_"__I'm sorry. You just weren't being very responsive."_

_"__I just killed someone, Ax. How do you expect me to react?"_

_"__I don't know."_

___She took my face in her hands and sighed. "I love you." she kissed my forehead and then pulled me into her arms._

___I didn't say anything. I didn't hug her back at first. She went from being in complete shock to acting like nothing ever happened. Then she started crying hysterically. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her. I sat on the couch and she curled into me. I heard the sounds of fighting from outside and I know she did too. Whenever there was a grunt or thud she flinched and pulled herself tighter to me. Her fingers took hold of my shirt when she heard Demyx cry out for Zexion. We didn't know which one of them was hurt but one of them was. _

___Time, what seemed like hours, passed. Rienna and I sat on the couch listening to what was happening outside._

_"__Axel…" she whimpered._

_"__I'm right here."_

_"__Make it stop."_

_"__I can't do that. This will carry on until it's over."_

_"__I just don't want to hear it anymore."_

_"__You wanna go for a drive?"_

___She nodded against my shoulder._

___I stood with her still in my arms and carried her out front. I put her in the backseat of the car so she could lie down. I climbed into the driver's seat and turned on the car. I pulled out of the driveway and kept driving. _


	19. Not Perfect, Just Less Hostile

___I carried her into the house and tucked her into bed. I went out back to find Demyx and Zexion sitting on the ground. I saw nothing else, just them. Zexion was wrapping Demyx's arm with a bandage. Both of their faces were scarred and bruised. I walked over to them and knelt down._

_"__What happened?" I whispered._

_"__Larxene came back with a few of her many Heartless companions. She seemed to be able to control them." Zexion paused, "Is Rienna alright?"_

_"__She's sleeping now. We went for a drive so she could calm down. She fell asleep after an hour or so."_

_"__Hm, well she may be awake about now."_

___I turned to look at the back door. Rienna was standing there with the bed comforter wrapped around her. She looked out at us, her head cocked to the side. She wiped her eyes and turned around. _

_"__Go check on her, Ax. She needs you right now."_

___I stood and made my way back into the house. I found her sitting cross-legged on the couch with Miliana sleeping on her lap. I sat down next to her and she looked at me for a short while then back down at Miliana. _

_"__Is she okay?"_

_"__Yeah. She was sleeping when I got up."_

___Miliana shifted and Rienna picked her up. _

_"__We have to get out of here, Axel. It's not safe for us or her."_

_"__I know. We can start looking for a new place in the city or somewhere."_

_"__I don't want to move anywhere else. I'll miss this place too much. The lake and the tree house… we'll lose it all."_

_"__Hm, there has to be something we can do."_

_"__Rebuild."_

_"__What?"_

_"__Rebuild the place. We could rent something somewhere and stay there until the renovations are done. I can't help but feel we're going to need a bigger house anyway. I mean, we have people here all the time."_

_"__Can we afford that?"_

_"__We can actually. I managed to get a hold of my trust fund and my inheritance."_

_"__How much do you have?"_

_"__Roughly two-hundred thousand dollars."_

_"__Well, I'll see what I can find and then after the wedding we can decide where to go from there."_

___She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and kissed her forehead. _

_"__Come on. Back to bed with you."_

___She rolled her eyes at me and giggled. She stood up and the cover fell off of her shoulders. I picked it up and followed her back to the bedroom. She put Miliana in her crib and climbed onto the bed. I threw the comforter over her. _

_"__I need to take a shower." She muttered._

_"__Then get up."_

___She crawled from underneath the covers and went into the bathroom. The water started and I listened to her every move._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Rienna_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___I took off my clothes and let them drop to the floor. I step under the water and let out a breath. _

_"__Ax?" I call._

_"__Yeah?"_

_"__I need you."_

___The bathroom door opened and he walked in._

_"__What is it?"_

_"__Put on your bathing suit and get your ass in here."_

___A few minutes passed and he got in the shower with me. He smoothed his wet hair back from his face and looked at me. I stared up at him._

_"__What's wrong?"_

_"__This is the only place that's safe anymore. It's the only place I can be near you without someone running in and telling me we're being attacked."_

___I wrapped my arms around his waist and he returned the gesture. His hands rested on my back, his fingers curling and uncurling against my skin. _

_"__Axel?"_

___He hummed in response._

_"__Why does this keep happening to us?"_

_"__Rienna, don't. Larxene's gone. This is over."_

_"__Yeah for now. What'll happen when someone else comes along?"_

_"__I promise no one else will come. I never knew my family and there aren't any more jealous ex's."_

_"__What you only had two other romantic involvements before me?"_

_"__No, but I lost contact with the rest of them a long time ago."_

___I pulled back and looked up at him, "How many of them were there?"_

_"__I don't know, ten… twenty…"_

_"__Twenty?"_

_"__That's not important." He took my face in his hands, "The thing is that now you are my one and my only."_

_"__You know, this is kinda weird when I'm naked and we're in the shower."_

___He laughed, "Would you like to have this conversation out of the shower?"_

_"__I don't want to have it at all."_

___I laid my head back against his chest. We stood under the water for a while longer. Eventually, he sunk down against the shower wall and pulled me onto his lap. There was a knock on the bathroom door._

_"__What?" Axel called._

_"__You guys have been in there for a couple hours. We were just checking to make sure you're still alive." Zexion muttered._

_"__We're fine. We're just enjoying our quality time." Axel smiled down at me._

_"__Well you should enjoy it outside of the shower. We still have to pay bills here."_

___I nodded and stood up. Axel got up and we stepped out. He wrapped a towel around me and carried me out of the room. He put me on the bed and covered me up._

_"__Am I not allowed to have clothes on?"_

_"__No, you get a towel."_

_"__Why?"_

_"__Trust me, you won't need clothes tonight."_

_"__Wait, huh?"_

___He smiled and ran out of the room. He came back a little while later with two Mountain Dews and a bag of pretzels in his teeth._

_"__What are you doing?"_

___He set the drinks down on the nightstand and the pretzels on the bed. _

_"__I am going to enjoy a nice snack in bed with my fiancé. You are going to do the same."_

_"__So I can't wear clothes for this?"_

_"__No."_

_"__But_"_

_"__Shh."_

_"__Ax_"_

_"__Shh."_

___I opened my mouth to speak again but he just glared at me. Then he smiled and plopped down on the bed. _

_"__There seems to be something loose in your brain." _

___He handed me my drink and smiled._

_"__What is it you are trying to do?"_

_"__Nothing."_

___He had dragged out the word and smiled when he finally shut up again. I just sighed and sipped at my Mountain Dew. I kept glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He kept the same distant look. There was once when I looked over at him and he nearly started laughing. A little while after that he put the bag of pretzels on the floor and his drink on the nightstand. _

_"__Come here." He muttered._

___I set my drink on my nightstand and he pulled me on top of him. _

_"__What?" I asked._

_"__I need you tell me if this is everything you wanted."_

_"__Axel, what are you talking about?"_

_"__You know how every girl, when she was little, dreamed of having the perfect romance, a prince charming."_

_"__Trust me, Ax, you're no prince charming, but I couldn't ask for more. You've given me everything. I never really had a family. I told about how my dad left then my mom died. Sephiroth was taken from me. I was alone for all those years and then you found me. You literally rescued me. I have my brother back. Zexion and Demyx are like brothers to me. Luxord is like my father and he was only around for a few months. I have a daughter, someone I can give a better life than what I had. We can give her a father and a mother that will always love her and be here for her. We can give her people she can always go to for anything."_

_"__Just making sure."_

_"__Why? You've never asked about this before?"_

_"__With the wedding and everything that's happened, I just wanted to be sure you weren't feeling any regret."_

___I smiled then kissed his forehead, "I could never regret you." I kissed his lips, "You may not be perfect but I don't want perfect. I want happiness and the imperfections that come with it."_

_"__Then I promise to always make you happy."_

___I laughed, "Did we just come up with our wedding vows?"_

_"__I think we did." He laughed and pulled my face close, "I love you so much."_

_"__I love you too. Can I put clothes on now?"_

___He smiled and nodded. I climbed off of him and looked around for my clothes. _

_"__What did you do?"_

_"__What are you talking about?"_

_"__Where are my clothes?"_

_"__Did you leave it out this morning?"_

_"__Yeah."_

_"__Well, I don't know but you can wear one of my shirts if you want."_

___I went to the closet and grabbed one of his polo shirts. I put my arms through the sleeves and buttoned it up. I climbed back onto the bed and curled up next to him. He kissed the top of my head._

_"__Two weeks and everything will be as perfect as it can be." He muttered._

_"__Like I said, I don't want perfect but less hostile would be nice."_


	20. Another Liability

I decided to send Zexion and Demyx to get the wedding cake. Axel didn't trust just Demyx with his credit card.

"I still don't know why Tifa wanted a cake." Axel complained as he handed Zexion his card.

"She said 'it's about tradition.'"

"What tradition? No one else is married."

I shrugged. "She's Tifa."

Everyone murmured their agreements. Zexion left with Demyx following close behind.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A couple hours later, Zexion came back with a very estranged young man with him. Behind him, Demyx carried the cake.

"Zexion, who is this?" I asked.

"I don't know. He was wandering the street when we found him."

"When you found him. I was too busy trying to get my fingers out of that stupid Chinese thing."

"Wait what?" Axel blurted.

"I keep a pair of those Chinese finger cuffs in the car to distract Demyx when he starts to annoy me. Anyway, he looked like he had somewhere to live but he doesn't seem to remember. I was hoping maybe you could talk to him."

The boy had sat down on the couch. I walked over to him and knelt down in front of him. I looked into his eyes which I now saw were a brilliant blue. I wasn't sure of his hair color. It could be a very dirty blonde or brunette. I moved some of his hair from his face to find a bruise marking his cheek. I grazed my fingers over it and left my hand on his cheek.

"What's your name?"

"Le… Leon."

"Who did this to you?"

"I don't remember everything, only people in black… silver hair… yellow eyes."

There was a gasp behind me. I turned to see Sephiroth staring wide-eyed at me. He lifted his hand and pointed down the hallway.

"Leon, this is Axel. I want you to talk to him, okay? Tell him anything you can remember."

Leon nodded and Axel took my place. I followed Sephiroth down the hall and into his bedroom.

"What do you know about him?"

"I don't know anything about him but I know where he came from. They brought him to me when I was still locked up. If he hadn't said those things, I never would have known."

I took his face in my hands and forced him to look at me, "That was the past, Seph, when you were still infected."

"But how can I look at him and not feel some sort of," he paused searching for the right word, "remorse."

"I understand that but whatever you did to him was not your fault."

"You don't know what happened."

"Then tell me."

"He was delivered to me. They picked him up right off the street like some poor stray dog. The only things they let him keep were his clothes and a necklace with some sort of coin on it. They would put him in my room and unchain me. Then I would lose any control I had left and I would nearly kill him. I guess they decided to let him go."

"Marluxia wouldn't have kept him this long."

"It looks as if they were trying to heal him."

"Well, he can't remember anything but his name and whatever he tells Axel. So can we go out there and try to figure this kid out?"

He nodded and smiled. I kissed his cheek and took his hand. We walked back out to the living room. Immediately Axel was on his feet and pulling me back down the hall. He pulled me into our room.

"He doesn't remember anything or he just won't tell me. He said there's a girl. Her name is Yuffie. She found him a couple weeks ago and she tried really hard to help him remember. He didn't think anything more of her than just someone helping him. She kept telling him he had to remember. I think she might be more to him than he thinks."

"Then we have to find her."

"What? We're supposed to get married tomorrow."

"I know that. We'll find her a couple days after. I want him settled somewhere. You think Cloud would take him?"

"I don't know but right now," he put his hands on my shoulders, "we have to focus on tomorrow."

I nodded and we went back to the living room. Everyone was sitting somewhere now. Leon was gone.

"Where is he?"

"Zexion sent him out back." Demyx mumbled.

"When are Luxord and company supposed to get here?" I asked looking up at Axel.

I heard the sounds of car doors shutting and I ran for the door. I opened it and Marluxia was already standing there; the sun was setting behind him.

"Marly!" I yelled throwing my arms around his neck, "It's about time."

"I know. Saïx has the bladder of a squirrel."

"I'm right behind you."

"Oh well."

We all laughed. Marluxia let me go and walked into the house. I hugged Saïx next and then Xigbar. Luxord was last. I actually ran to him.

"Hello my little one." He laughed.

"Hey!"

He held me out at arm's length. "How have you been?"

"I've been well now that everything is better, you know far less hostile."

"Good."

"Yes but there's a little situation."

"What is it?"

"Okay well two things. First, there is a guy here with a serious case of amnesia that I think you might know a little something about. Second, you are giving me away tomorrow."

"Do you know what his name is?"

"Leon."

He sighed, "Let's go inside."

I took his hand and led him inside. Leon was sitting on the floor next to the coffee table. He was eating French fries off a plate sitting next to him.

"There are more in the kitchen." Axel smiled.

Leon's eyes shifted from the plate to me and then Luxord. His eyes grew wide and he curled into himself.

"Please don't hurt me." He cried.

I knelt down next to him and he wrapped his arms around my waist and hid his face against me.

"Leon, it is fine. He's not here to hurt you."

"But he's one of them."

"No, he used to be. He isn't here to hurt you. Even if he wasn't, I wouldn't let him."

He let me go and looked up at me, "You're sure?"

"Yes, you are fine."

He nodded and went back to eating his food.

"He reacted like that every time one of them came through the door." Demyx muttered.

Luxord sat on the couch next to Axel. I sat on the floor in front Axel. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my neck. He kissed my cheek.

"Why do you guys always do that?" Saïx smiled.

"Do what?" I asked looking up at Axel.

"You two are attached at the hip."

"So?" Axel mumbled.

"It's kind of annoying."

I stuck my tongue out at Saïx and stood up. I sat down on Axel's lap and he wrapped his arms around my waist. It was quiet for a while. Axel and I shared a plate of fries. After everyone finished eating we stayed in the living room and watched TV.

"Everything's so peaceful here." Leon muttered.

"It wasn't always. It took us a while to get here. We used to have to deal with a lot." Axel explained, "When she was pregnant, there someone harassing us and it made things very difficult. Once that was dealt with, we were fine. Then someone else came along and that's been dealt with too."

"Yeah as of like two weeks ago." I mumbled.

Everyone looked at me and laughed. Leon stared at me and then yawned.

"Is there somewhere I can stay for the night?"

"The tree house maybe?" I looked at Axel.

"I'll get you a pillow and a couple blankets. You can stay up there tonight and I suppose as long as you need to. It'll be about a week I suppose before we can get enough info on Yuffie to find her."

"Amara, her name is Yuffie Amara. She lives in an apartment in the city. She's really very nice."

"Could you show us where she lives?"

"Yeah, she showed me the way."

"Then we'll get you settled. We'll do a little research to make sure we're taking to the right girl and then we'll figure it out from there."

"I really must thank you all. You've been so kind to me and you don't even know me. I don't know if I knew you before this but if I did, I was very lucky."

"You're not the first person we've rescued. Demyx was half-dead when he came here to us. Zexion was just our doctor. Cloud and Tifa were our trainers but now they're like our family." Axel smiled.

I stood up and walked to the kitchen. Axel, Demyx and Zexion followed.

"Can we talk to you out back for a second?" Zexion smiled.

"Sure." I answered, unsure.

Axel took my hand and led me outside. Zexion followed close behind him and Demyx shut the door.

"Are you insane?" Demyx yelled.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know if you some obligation to help the guy but we can't help him."

"Why not?"

"This girl is somewhere in the city. He can barely remember his own name let alone how to get to this girl's house."

"I remember when he was brought to us. He didn't know who he was, where he came from, or who this Yuffie girl was. His memory is not to be trusted." Zexion explained.

"Then we do the research." I argued.

"Babe, they're right. I don't mind if he stays here but maybe we need to help him get past this. We don't need to restore his past memory. Maybe it's better if we don't go after this girl."

"Axel, baby, what if that were you in there? What if you forgot who I was and when someone finally saved you, they wouldn't let you find me? Demyx what if it was Zexion who forgot you? What if you forgot him?" The expressions on their faces changed. "You have to think about how he's feeling. She was obviously important. Maybe we should track her down without him and figure out what she was to him before we permanently rip them apart."

"She does have a point." Axel mumbled.

"But we can't find her without him." Demyx disagreed.

"Find out if he remembers an address."

They stared at me for a second. Then Demyx sighed, "Alright but if this doesn't work out, it's on your head."

"Fine."

I pushed past them and walked back into the house.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Axel

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

I glared at Demyx and Zexion.

"Axel, he's a liability." Zexion muttered.

"I don't care and neither does she. I'm never gonna hear the end of this. Or maybe I will because she won't be talking to me."

It was Zexion's bright idea not to help him and Demyx's idea to talk to Rienna about it.

"Axel, we're sorry. We didn't think she would get so upset."

"She doesn't like to be told she's wrong and she doesn't like to be blamed. If I don't get married tomorrow, I'm kicking both your asses."

I walked into the house and went into the living room.

"Where did she go?"

"Bedroom. What did you do to her?" Xigbar asked, glaring at me.

"Not me, Demyx and Zexion."

"What did they do?" Saïx inquired.

"Ask them."

I walked to the room and found her curled up in Luxord's arms. She was crying.

"I don't know why. They just… I don't know."

He was stroking her hair and hushing her, "It's okay."

"Luxord, can we have some privacy?"

She looked up at me and then at him. She nodded. Luxord stood, kissed her forehead, and walked toward me.

"Don't upset her further."

He left the room, shutting the door behind him. I sat on the bed next to her and she climbed onto my lap.

"So you're not mad at me?"

"No, I mad at Demyx and Zexion. Never before have they doubted me and now they are. I don't know why they would."

"They don't doubt you. They doubt him. Demyx was right when he said that this boy probably can't find his way back to her house. It's not safe to let him lead us in blindly through the city. If we can find her on our own then we will but if we can't, we won't."

"I just don't like keeping them apart. I can tell by the he talks about her that she was more than someone who picked him up off the street. I bet she knew him."

"Yeah maybe they were together. Maybe they were in love. And you were right, if it were me in his position I would want the person that found me to help me find you."

"That was my point, Ax. If I were her, I would want you to find me. I would want you to do anything and everything you could to find me. If they were together, in love, then she has to be heartbroken knowing that he forgot who she was to him."

She curled against me and I wrapped my arms tighter around her, "We'll fix this, I promise."


	21. This Is It

_"__Baby, wake up." I whispered before kissing her forehead._

___She groaned and shifted in my arms. The bedroom door flew open and Tifa was standing there._

_"__Get up!" she yelled, "It's almost noon and neither of you have moved."_

___I picked up the clock, "Tifa, it's eight in the morning."_

_"__Well whatever just get up."_

_"__The wedding is at five."_

___Rienna shifted and groaned even louder only this time it was more coherent, "Shut up Tifa."_

_"__Hey! Get up!"_

___Rienna jumped up and then jumped back down again. She hid her face against my chest and groaned again. _

_"__You know, I could do something really mean right now but I won't because you're getting married later. I would seriously suggest you both get up. We have some things to set up."_

___Rienna rolled over so that she was facing Tifa. Her eyes fluttered open and she glared at Tifa._

_"__It is barely eight thirty in the morning and you are in here excited over something that's not about you. I love you, Tifa, but will you shut up?"_

_"__Fine I'll come back at noon."_

_"__Thank you. I'm sure you can handle whatever it is until we get up."_

___Tifa turned in the doorway and clapped her hands twice._

_"__Alright people I'm in charge until they get up! Everyone outside!"_

___There was a loud shuffling and the back door shut. _

_"__Hey, are you okay?" I whispered against her hair._

_"__Yeah, I'm just tired. Everything's that happened has taken a lot out of me. I'm not talking to them."_

_"__Which them?"_

_"__Demyx and Zexion, I don't want to talk to them."_

_"__Then you don't have to, but if they try to apologize can you please consider forgiving them?"_

_"__Not anytime soon."_

_"__You are so stubborn."_

_"__But you love me anyway." She rolled back over and kissed my arm, "Now can I please go back to sleep."_

_"__Yes, I'll go help them, I guess."_

___I kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes. I left the room and went outside. Tifa was barking commands at everyone. I looked around and my eyes locked on Demyx. He was wrapped in lights. They looked like the white Christmas lights that people hang outside. I walked over to him. Zexion was standing behind him trying to find out how to untangle him._

_"__Wow, Dem, you really got yourself into something."_

_"__Shut up and help me."_

___I tried to help Zexion untangle him but the lights just seemed to get tighter around him._

_"__Tifa!" Demyx finally yelled._

___She looked over at us. Zexion had managed to get his hands tangled into the lights. The lights were wrapping around my leg. She gasped and ran over to us._

_"__Where is the end of the lights?"_

___Zexion held his hands up, the plug of the lights dangling between them. She grabbed it and pulled. Zexion pulled his hands free and then helped me untie my leg. It took a little longer to get Demyx out of the lights._

_"__I say we just plug him in." Cloud laughed._

_"__Yeah real funny." Demyx said as he stepped out of the lights._

_"__Axel, she's in the doorway." Tifa muttered._

___I turned to see Rienna watching us outside with a smile on her face and a blanket around her. She rubbed her eyes, dropped the blanket and opened the back door. She was walking toward me in nothing but a pair of short-shorts and a tank top. Her walk turned into a run and she jumped into my arms. Her legs wrapped around me and she giggled._

_"__Are you okay?" I asked her when she finally got off of me._

_"__Yeah, it's just finally going to happen the way I've been wanting."_

_"__We've been wanting."_

___She put her hand against my cheek and I covered it with my hand. _

_"__Everything will be… happy with all the imperfections." I smiled._

___She nodded and turned to Tifa, "How much longer will this take?"_

_"__Umm… a few hours maybe less as long Demyx doesn't get himself tied up again."_

_"__Tifa, turn around." Rienna chuckled._

___Tifa turned and her head dropped. Demyx had managed to get himself tangled in flowery garlands. Rienna laughed and shook her head._

_"__Hey, where's Leon?"_

_"__He's sleeping I think."_

___She nodded and kissed my cheek. She turned to walk toward the ladder of the tree house and I caught her arm._

_"__Don't take him to Yuffie."_

_"__I just wanted to talk to him."_

_"__Alright."_

___I let her arm go and watched her go up the ladder._

_"__Ax, a little help here." Demyx called from behind me._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Rienna_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___I climbed the ladder into the tree house. I found Leon looking at the walls. _

_"__Knock. Knock." I said._

___He turned and smiled, "Good morning."_

_"__More like afternoon."_

___I stepped up behind him and smiled at the picture, "We were. We are. That picture is a couple of years old though. Our being together was a big accident. He saved my life. We fell in love and we're supposed to get married a couple hours from now."_

_"__It's nice to have someone I guess."_

_"__You know, I think you had someone too."_

_"__Did I?"_

_"__That Yuffie girl, she could have been to you what I am to Axel. That's why we have to find her. Axel and I are going to find her."_

_"__Why can't I go?"_

_"__Because we don't know what you were to her. You could have just been some guy and she could've just been being kind."_

_"__No I could tell it was more than that. She needed me to remember. I just wish I could."_

_"__Well, I was about to head into the city. I thought you might want to come."_

_"__Yeah, I'll go."_

_"__But I'm not allowed to take you to Yuffie."_

_"__Why not?"_

_"__We have to eliminate any chance that she won't want to see you. That's why Axel and I have to go on our own first."_

___He sighed, "Alright."_

_"__Okay, I'm going to get dressed. Meet me in the house?"_

___He nodded and I turned to leave the tree house. I climbed down the ladder and walked inside. Miliana was standing up in her crib, staring at me. _

_"__Mama!" she screamed._

___I walked over and picked her up. I left the bedroom and went to the back door. I looked around and finally found Axel in a tree._

_"__Axel, did you give her a bath?"_

_"__I think Tifa did!"_

_"__Yep!" Tifa yelled from behind the tree._

___I turned around and went back to the room. I dressed Miliana first and then myself. I found the car keys and walked out to the living room. Leon was sitting on the couch._

_"__I'll just be another second."_

___I went to the kitchen and grabbed some pop-tarts. I went back out to the living room and opened the front door. Leon followed me out. I strapped Miliana in her car seat and got in the driver's seat. Leon was already sitting in the passenger's seat._

_"__You know, your silence is a little bit annoying."_

_"__I just don't understand why I'm not allowed to find her."_

_"__Because it's not particularly safe for her or you, I mean, it could hurt you both emotionally."_

_"__Fuck my emotions. She was something to me before this happened to me. I can handle it."_

_"__But she may not be able to. And watch your mouth in front of my child."_

___He looked to the backseat and sighed, "How old is she anyway?"_

_"__A little over a year."_

_"__She's cute."_

_"__Yeah."_

_"__What are you mad at me now?"_

_"__No, I just need you to take things a little more seriously today."_

_"__I understand. Where are we going anyway?"_

_"__I don't really know. I just wanted to get out of the house. Maybe take Miliana to the park."_

_"__Why didn't you get Axel to go with you?"_

_"__Well he was in a tree and I thought maybe you would like to get out of there."_

_"__They scare me."_

_"__I know but they shouldn't. They're all very kind and any on the people that would've hurt you aren't exactly around anymore. I had the same problem when I first met them but now Luxord is like a father to me. He protects me."_

_"__I don't know them like you do. I only know them as the people that wanted to kill me."_

___We arrived at the park a little while later. I parked the car and got out. I got Miliana out of her car seat and walked toward the little playground. Leon followed closely behind me. _

_"__I feel like I've been here before." Leon muttered._

___The playground was empty. I took Miliana over to the swings and sat down with her in my lap. Leon sat in the swing next to mine and stared at the ground. A little time passed and he gasped._

_"__Yuffie… this is where I met her."_

___I looked at him, "What are you talking about?"_

_"__It was here. We were sixteen. I came here one night after my parents got into it. She was walking by and she was crying. She saw me and walked over to me. She sat down right there on that swing. I said hello and asked her what was wrong. 'I just broke up with my boyfriend.' She'd whispered, 'well he broke up with me.' I told her I was sorry and she said it was okay. Then we just swung for a while. We talked and I gave her my number in case she ever needed to talk." He placed his hand over his eyes and took in a deep breath, "Then when it got really late, my mom called me and told me to come home. We went in opposite directions. She called me every day after that."_

___He looked at me, tears in his eyes. "Can we go?"_

___I nodded and we went back to the car. Leon climbed into the passenger seat. I buckled Miliana in her car seat and gave her half of a pop-tart. I got into the driver's seat and started the car._

_"__We'll find her just not right now."_

___The ride home was quiet. He stared out the window the whole time. When we made it home Axel was standing outside waiting for me. I parked the car and took Miliana from her car seat. Axel walked over with a huge smile plastered on his face._

_"__Why are you so smiley?"_

_"__What? I can't smile?"_

_"__Have you looked at how you're smiling?"_

_"__No."_

_"__Well you look crazy. Take it down a notch babe."_

___He stuck his tongue out at me and took Miliana from my arms. He leaned down and kissed me. _

_"__I have something to tell you."I whispered._

___He nodded and turned to go into the house. I followed behind him, my hand clutching his shirt. He led me into the bedroom. Miliana had fallen asleep somewhere during the walk to the room. He put her in bed and then turned to me._

_"__What is it?"_

_"__Leon's beginning to remember. We went to the park and he had a flashback of the day he and Yuffie met. Axel, if he can remember, he can go back to her."_

_"__We'll see. Tifa says you need to get ready."_

___I groaned._

_"__I know but it has to be done."_

___Next thing I knew, Tifa was dragging me from the room. She tied me into the dress and curled my hair. I was annoyed by the time it was over. When I walked out to the living room, my first thought was "where did they find all of these suits?" It was awkward because most of these guys had long hair so it didn't look right. I actually started laughing. Then I caught a glimpse of Axel in the bathroom mirror. Someone, my guess Kairi, had straightened his hair. It fell to his shoulders. I laughed harder._

_"__Can she see me?"_

_"__Yes." I forced out as I tried to catch my breath._

___He shut the bathroom door._

___Some more time passed and everything went the way it was supposed to._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Again I say we all know how weddings work so let's skip to the mushy part. Yes I'm talking about the vows. Axel first._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

_"__The other night I asked you if this was everything you wanted. With what we've been through I wanted to be sure you regretted nothing. I've been busting my ass to be your prince charming just for you to tell me that's not what you wanted. You said you just want to be happy. I promise I will always be there to keep you happy. I love you, always have, always will."_

___A loud "awwww" erupted from the audience. I was tearing up and so was Axel._

_"__Axel, you couldn't give me anything more even if I asked. You've done everything you possibly could for me. When I was young, my brother was taken from me. You got him back for me. You gave me a father and a mother-like figure. You've given me a real family. Most of all, you've given me a daughter and a second chance, not at a normal life, but at a good one. You're my everything, Ax. I can't live without you and I don't plan on it."_

___We looked at each other. It took me a second to realize that almost everyone was crying. _

_"__Just kiss her man!" Demyx yelled as he pulled Zexion against his chest._

___Axel smiled and took my face in his hands. _

_"__This is it." He whispered._

___I smiled and then his lips were against mine. Everyone started clapping and cheering. _

_"__There's food inside." I said and then Axel picked me up off the ground. He carried me into the house and to our room. _

_"__I am so glad to get out of this dress. I can only stand a corset for so long."_

_"__Hey, I have never worn a suit in my life. I think Tifa was more into this than we were. We should have just gone to Vegas."_

_"__She never would've forgiven us."_

___He helped me out of the dress. I stood in front of the mirror in my underwear. Axel had taken his tux off and was standing behind me. _

_"__They're waiting on us." he muttered._

_"__I know."_

___He kissed my shoulder and then my ear. He threw my other dress at me and I pulled it on. It was shorter, stopping above my knees. It was strapless and "easily stripped off" as Axel said. He just put on a pair of black pants and a dress shirt that he left unbuttoned. We went out to the living room where everyone was crowded. _

_"__Okay, you guys should have just stayed out back." I laughed._

_"__But the food was in here." Marluxia said through a mouthful of whatever he was eating._

_"__Then take it outside. You all can't crowd in here."_

___Everyone slowly migrated outside. We did the normal wedding reception stuff. We partied for like and extra hour or so. Eventually, everyone started to leave. Tifa took Miliana and everyone else stayed with elsewhere for the night. Axel and I wanted the house to ourselves. We got the house to ourselves. 'Nuf said._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Author's note_

___Okay okay. I know we were all expecting this hot, steamy, to die for sex scene. I didn't feel like writing it so you don't get to have it. If and only if I change my mind I will post the scene as a subchapter. _


	22. This Is It subchapter THE WEDDING NIGHT

**THE WEDDING NIGHT **

-Written in 3rd person POV

-As promised, the wedding night supchapter.

After everyone left, he picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder. She laughed of course.

"Axel, put me down."

"No way. You are all mine tonight."

"Aren't I every night?"

"Touché."

He threw her down onto the bed and she pulled him down with her. Their lips met and she smiled into the kiss. His lips left her and trailed kisses across her jaw and up to her ear. She could feel his breath against her skin as he whispered.

"I hope I'm doing this right."

She pulled him back and looked into his eyes, "Perfect."

Their lips met once again only this time he didn't break the kiss. He pulled her torso up from the bed and unzipped her dress. She rolled them so that she was on top. She then leaped from the bed and let her dress fall at her feet. He marveled at her body as she climbed on top of him again, unbuttoning his jacket and his shirt. He sat up and pulled them both off, tossing them to the side. His teeth nipped the skin at her neck and then her chest, leaving a trail of small hickeys.

"Axel…" she breathed.

His hands caressed her back, searching for the clasp to her bra. She grabbed his hand and guided it to the clasp in the front. He unclipped it and she slid it off, tossing it away. He continued to kiss her in ways she had never known him to. She enjoyed every minute of it. She lightly pushed him back. Then her lips moved down his jaw. Then her tongue grazed the muscles of his chest and abdomen. The fingers of her right hand played with his belt buckle while the fingers on the other hand pulled on his belt loops.

He let out a loud sigh when she began to nip and kiss at the skin above his pants. She got his belt undone. He rolled them so that he could be on top. He stood and removed his pants from his body. He climbed back onto the bed and crushed his lips over hers. Both pairs of lips moved together. As her lips parted, his tongue slipped past. His hand moved to her face and he caressed her cheek with him thumb. That same hand moved down her side to her panty line. That same thumb moved underneath the elastic of her underwear and his smiled against her lips as she shivered.

"Nervous already?"

"Are you crazy?"

"A little."

She giggled and his lips moved down the front of her torso. When he was far enough down, his teeth took hold of the elastic and he used both his hands and his teeth to remove them from her body. He tossed them aside with the rest of their clothes. His tongue moved gently against her most sensitive area. She let out soft moans and gasps with each movement. Then his lips began moving back up her body and to her lips. Her hands played with the elastic of his boxers and their lips locked. He helped her remove them. She smiled at the feel of him against her.

"Ready?" he smiled seductively.

She raised one eyebrow but dropped it quickly with a nod. His lips crushed her again as he entered her body. She moaned with each thrust. He held her tight. After a while, she rolled them, taking control. He held her hips, guiding her as she rode him. More time passed and they continued to switch dominance.

Eventually he collapsed next to her, pulling her close. His hair clung to his forehead with sweat. Her hair had rearranged itself from gorgeous to a disturbed mess. The fought to catch their breath. Axel kissed her forehead and her cheeks over and over.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you, too." She mumbled back.

Finally, they both drifted to sleep.


	23. You Don't Deserve Her And You Know It

___We got an estimate for the renovations to the house. The total was only about $100,000, which according to Axel wasn't that bad. It would take about a month and until it was done we decided to stay at Zexion's old place, which he still owned. I didn't really notice until now that we were freaking rich. Altogether, we owned four cars. Our house itself was worth over half a million dollars. By the time the renovations were done our house would be worth about one million. But yeah, money was never an issue with Axel._

_"__Did you get everything?" he asked, throwing our suitcases into the trunk._

_"__Yeah, I think so. Demyx, let's go!"_

___He ran out of the house and tossed Miliana's blanket at me, "Found it under the bed."_

_"__Thank you. Now get in the car. We gotta go."_

___We drove the hour and a half to Zexion's place. Looking at it made our house in its original form seem mediocre. It was three stories high. According to him, each floor had two room and two bathrooms. Axel and I took the second floor, one bedroom for us and one for Miliana. _

_"__How did you even afford this place?" I asked after I finished exploring the mansion._

_"__It belonged to my parents. I was one of the random Organization members that still had a connection to my biological family. They died in a car accident a few years back, leaving this place to me. I lost touch with my little sister though, so she never got her share of what my parents had."_

_"__You have a little sister?"_

_"__Her name is Aqua. She looks more like out mother than I do. We used to be very close but when I joined the Organization we drifted apart. She never agreed with the things they did."_

_"__You never did tell me your story."_

_"__It's not a particularly pleasant one, although it is better than most."_

_"__Still, I wanna know."_

_"__I lived a remarkably normal life when I was younger. When I was about three years old, my mother gave birth to Aqua. I was proud to call myself an older brother. She and I did everything together. As the years progressed, we began to go our separate ways in public but spent our time at home together. She loved to laugh and smile. When I was eighteen she was fifteen. Xemnas came to me with Luxord and Marluxia, offering me a position in Organization XIII. I told them I would think about it. They accepted that and left. For the next week, Aqua and I researched and discussed the Organization. When she found what they were doing, she scolded me for ever considering it. We got into an argument and we stopped speaking. A week after the fight, Xemnas returned alone this time. I accepted his offer and I left with him that day. I never saw Aqua again after that. Whenever I would visit my parents, she would be at a friend's or she just wouldn't leave her room. On her eighteenth birthday, she left home. _

_"__My life in the Organization was truly a lonely one until Demyx came along. I remember the day they introduced me to a tall sixteen year old boy with blond hair spiked up in a Mohawk but still down in that mullet. That was something I always appreciated it when it came to my parents. They loved me although they didn't agree with my orientation and they accepted Demyx. A few years after they met him they died in a horrible car accident. The police said that it looked more like a homicide than an accident. I refuse to believe someone would have killed them. My mother was a charitable woman, kind-hearted and warm. If it was a homicide, my mother was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My father was an extraordinary businessman. He did all that he had to so that he could provide for his family. He loved my mother and sister with all his heart and me as well. The work my father did was considered wildly illegal although it helped millions of people. He would be the reason my mother's life came to an end, if someone murdered them."_

_"__So where did Demyx come from?"_

_"__Orphanage." Demyx mumbled._

_"__Ohmigosh, Demyx you're an orphan?"_

_"__Calm down Rienna, it's not that big a deal."_

_"__How can you say it's not that big a deal?"_

_"__I didn't even know my parents. They left me with Xemnas when I was just a baby."_

_"__So you were with them all your life?"_

_"__Been killing people since I turned thirteen, Xemnas gave me my first sitar at the age of ten. Learned how to use it and use it I did."_

___He looked off into the distance, his lips pressing in a hard line. Miliana crawled across the floor and pulled at his pants leg. He looked down at her and smiled. He reached down and swept her up. She tangled her small fingers in his hair._

_"__No reason to focus on the past now. You all are my family now."_

___His eyes locked with Miliana's when he said that. Axel always said that Demyx cherished her the way we did. I never really saw it until then. I watched him set her on the floor. I watched his eyes as they watched her cross the floor back over to me. I picked her up. She yawned and laid her head against my chest. Her breathing slowed as she drifted to sleep. I stood with her in my arms, kissed Axel softly, and went upstairs to put her to bed._

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___Axel_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___We sat in the living room, looking back and forth at each other in silence._

_"__Why does she worry so much?" Demyx asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. _

_"__She's lived a hard life. She worries about me and Miliana the same. She's got a family now that she can worry about."_

___Demyx nodded and sat back against Zexion. _

_"__Where's Sephiroth?"_

_"__In the pool." Zexion answered with a smile._

_"__There's a pool?"_

_"__Yeah, in the pool house out back."_

___I stood and went to the bottom of the stairs. Rienna was coming down, Miliana still in her arms._

_"__She didn't want to go to bed?"_

_"__She wanted to just not in her bed."_

___She smiles at the child in her arms and then at me. She continued down the stairs until she was standing next to me. _

_"__We're going out to the pool. You wanna come?"_

_"__Yeah just give me a second."_

___She went into the kitchen and the sound of cabinets opening and closing ensued. I stared at the kitchen door for a while before Demyx grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the back door. _

_"__Come on, she's coming in a little while."_

___I let him pull me about half way and then I forced him to let me go._

_"__You know I think you worry about her more than she worries about you." Zexion said, laughing._

_"__I do worry about her. She didn't always sleep as well as she does now. Every time I look at her, I ask myself why we couldn't have just met on the street. You know, why it had to be a matter of life and death."_

_"__I thought you discussed that with her. You wouldn't have anything you have now. I'd still be at the Organization getting my ass kicked for whatever reason. Zexion would be living here, alone, worrying his ass off about me. Miliana wouldn't be alive." Demyx argued._

___I stopped mid-step and looked at him._

_"__I'm right, Axel, and you know it."_

_"__I know Dem, and that's what scares me."_

_"__So what, you're saying if you had it to do over again, you would wait for her to find you? Let's not forget that you guys met because you had to save her. She would be taken by Organization XIII before you even got the chance to meet her. You remember any of this so you would be alone and she would be locked away if not dead. If I were you, I wouldn't second guess anything. I would appreciate the life I have."_

_"__Demyx_"_

_"__No, you need to listen to me Axel. I've only ever had Zexion and when he was sent away, I died inside. He was taken from me. I missed him every day. Every bruise, ever scar was just another reminder that I didn't have him to protect me. I know that she has second guessed everything between you two but I also know that she would never change it. You sound like if you had the chance you would give it all up to start over."_

___I stared at him. It completely shocked to hear him say these things. He never liked to talk about him time without Zexion. _

_"__You're right but I do appreciate what I have. My wife and my daughter are my life. They are all the family I have. And I know if I did everything over, I wouldn't have either of them."_

_"__You're right. You wouldn't have her." He stood in front me and grabbed my shoulders, "Be happy, Ax. Appreciate everything you have. You don't know how quickly it can be taken from you. Or have you forgotten that too? When Xemnas came here and nearly raped then killed her?"_

_"__I haven't forgotten."_

_"__No, you just haven't chosen to remember."_

_"__Demyx," Zexion whispered, "stop it."_

_"__No, Zex he has to hear this. You don't deserve her Axel. We know you love her but you don't deserve her or that little girl."_

_"__You think I don't know that!"_

_"__Demyx, she's coming. Shut up." _

___He closed his mouth and turned around. He took Zexion's hand and they ran off._


	24. We Have To Find Her

___Rienna_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

_"__What was that all about?"_

___Miliana was awake now. I carried her out on my back. The Heartless in her made her grow faster so now she was about the size of the average toddler, maybe a little smaller. She reached out for Axel. He smiled and took her._

_"__Daddy, what's wrong?" she whispered._

_"__Nothing at all. You wanna go swimming?"_

___She shook her head._

_"__Aw, why not?"_

_"__I'm scared."_

_"__You'll be fine. Mommy and I will be right there with you."_

_"__Mommy doesn't swim." I laughed._

_"__See?" Miliana, which we shortened to Mili, crossed her arms and looked at Axel._

_"__You'll at least get in the water right?" he asked looking at me._

___I nodded._

_"__There you go. I will hold you up as long as you need me to. I will never let anything happen to you."_

___She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed his temple, "I love you Daddy."_

_"__I love you too Mili."_

___He set her down and she ran in a squiggly pattern up to the pool house. Axel and I walked up the path hand in hand as we watched her._

_"__She's barely over a year old and she's running around here like she's years past."_

_"__Zexion says she'll stop growing so fast. He doesn't know when but it shouldn't be long._

_"__So there will be a time when she grows like a normal child?"_

_"__So he says, I mean he's been keeping track of her growth and it seems to have slowed down."_

_"__Axel?"_

_"__Yeah?"_

_"__Why is it that Xemnas had Demyx practically from birth but he and Zexion didn't meet until he was sixteen?"_

_"__It seems like quite the time lapse right? Yeah well, Xemnas wanted Demyx to know his place. I didn't even meet Demyx until I had to start training him. He was ten. I was a little less than a year older than him. I didn't want to but they said that if I didn't train him right I would face the consequences. If he didn't bleed, I would. Once he learned how to really use that sitar, I couldn't beat him."_

_"__What is a sitar?"_

_"__I don't know for sure. It contains the power of the elements of water. My chakrams house the power of fire. You've never seen Zexion's weapon but it's a book. It's called a Lexicon, the Book of Retribution."_

_"__What about Marluxia? And the others what do they do?"_

_"__Marly prefers his scythe. It's really no coincidence that it gives him power over flowers. Luxord uses card to manipulate time. Xigbar's weapon is confusing to me. He calls them arrowguns and he tends to manipulate space to get out of fights. Saïx is a crazy thing. He uses a Lunatic claymore. The moon unfortunately makes him act crazy."_

_"__So if I had to pick a weapon, what would it be?"_

_"__I don't know. I suppose some kind of blade with the power of air."_

_"__Why air?"_

_"__Zexion and I have actually discussed this. Your power is in your heart. The love you have for me and for Mili and for the others as well is your strength. You must consider what air means. It is the source of life. There are places where air powers everything. You saw how quickly you brought everyone together the day Marluxia brought the others down."_

___I smiled remembering how Luxord and Xigbar spoiled me. _

_"__So how would it work? I mean how would I get the weapon?"_

_"__That knife you have, it will take some work but it can be done."_

_"__Tell me how Ax."_

_"__I don't know how. Xion takes care of that stuff. Her power is light. It takes light to pair an element with an object."_

_"__When?"_

___We stopped outside the door to the pool house. He turned to me and kissed my forehead._

_"__When it's needed."_

___Miliana laughed as she stood on the side of the pool._

_"__Uncle Sephy!"_

___Axel opened the door and I walked in before him. Demyx dived into the water as Sephiroth swam over to get Miliana from the side of the pool. He held her up on his shoulders as he walked through the water. He stopped in the middle of the pool and looked at me._

_"__Come on, Ri. You gotta get in the water."_

___I shook my head and sat down on one of the chairs by the wall._

_"__Axel, there are some extra swim suits in the bathroom." Zexion said as he swam over to Demyx._

_"__Okay. Babe, I'm gonna go change and then when I come back I would hope you would at least put your feet in the water."_

___I looked past Axel at Mili and Sephiroth. She was whispering something to him and he nodded. _

_"__Nope because right now our daughter and my brother are conspiring against me. She just told him to pull me into the water if I put my feet in."_

_"__Mama, how did you know that?"_

_"__Heartless hearing, honey."_

___She nodded and went back to playing in the water with her uncle. Zexion and Demyx were in the corner sneaking kisses whenever Miliana would turn her back. Axel knelt down next to me._

_"__Please." He smiled._

___I shook my head. He rolled his eyes and sighed. Then he kissed me and stood up. He went to the bathroom. I watched the others in pool in silence. Axel walked out of the bathroom with a huge smile on his face. He sauntered over to me._

_"__Axel, why are you looking at me like that?"_

_"__Babe," he said as he sat on the floor next to me, "you remember that night in the lake behind out house? That night Roxas showed up and told you about Larxene?"_

___I groaned, "How could I forget it? That night changed our lives."_

_"__That was the night everything became known."_

_"__Why are you talking about this Axel?"_

_"__Because, Rienna, I've been thinking about Leon. He needs that," he paused, "that closure from Yuffie. If she doesn't want him, then he needs to know."_

_"__So what we just hunt her down?"_

_"__Yes, what's today?"_

_"__Thursday, why?"_

_"__Saturday we'll get Leon from Cloud's. We'll take him into the city and let him take us to Yuffie. We have to find her."_

_"__Then we will. I love you so much."_

___He turned slightly to look at me. He puckered his lips and I smiled. We kissed. Then he picked me up and threw me into the pool. I screamed as I fell toward the water. He dived in after me, picked me up, and put me on the edge._

_"__Jerk." I coughed._

_"__I'm sorry. I love you."_

___I shook my head and grabbed his soaking wet hair. I pulled him toward me and kissed his forehead. Miliana started clapping while the others laughed._

_"__You're still a jerk."_

_"__But you love me anyway."_

_"__Whatever."_

_"__Yeah whatever."_


	25. Reunited With Quite the Backstory

___He kept true to his word. The next morning, he got me up and while I got dressed he called Cloud. He was still on the phone when I went to wake Mili. Then, after I had her all dressed, I took her out to the car. I buckled her into her car seat and covered her with a small blanket. Axel got into the driver's seat and started the car. I got into the passenger's seat and watched Miliana in the rearview mirror. She fell asleep quickly. We left a little while later and on our way to pick Leon up, Axel looked at me._

_"__I really hope we're not taking him to his own heartbreak."_

_"__We're not. If he was screaming for her that much when we found him then she must be missing him just as much if not more. I know I would hate to lose you for this long."_

___He took my hand, "That's something we never have to worry about again."_

_"__Axel our hard times aren't over yet and we both know that."_

_"__I know but the most we can do is live today for us. When we take him back to her, she'll still love him. I know it. So tell me, are you worried that she won't?"_

_"__They aren't us Ax. Just because I wouldn't give up on you, doesn't mean she wouldn't give up on him."_

_"__True but when she sees him, all of those feelings she has for him will come rushing up and they'll be together again." _

___Why did he always have to be so damn positive? It's not that I don't believe she still loves him. I just keep picturing myself in her place. I'm not entirely sure I would wait so long for Axel. I mean, I would now that it's been so long that we've together but in the beginning… that's another issue. I love him. I have since the beginning but in the beginning I was in denial. It makes me worry that she moved on in the weeks that he was missing._

___Then I thought about when Roxas came all that time ago. There was a time, when I found Roxas pinning Axel to the wall. I was still pregnant then. I saw some glint of desire in Axel's eyes before he pushed Roxas aside to come to my side. Axel had ushered my off to bed before kicking Roxas out. But the desire was there. He was looking at that little blonde menace the same way he looked at me. I shivered just thinking about it._

___Axel put his hand on the back of my neck, driving with one hand._

_"__Are you okay?"_

___I blinked, looked at him, and nodded._

___As he was about to ask again, we pulled up to Cloud's house. Miliana jutted awake and began to whimper. I got out of the car and opened the side door. She reached out for me. I moved the blanket, unbuckled her and picked her up with the blanket around her. She rested her head on my shoulder._

_"__I'm gonna go get him." Axel said._

___I nodded and began to bounce Mili up and down in my arms. I could feel her heartbeat slow down as she calmed and started to fall asleep again. After a few minutes, Axel and Leon came out of the house. Miliana sat up and smiled when she saw them. Just as quickly as she was up, she was down again._

_"__Mommy, put me back in my seat. I wanna go back to sleep."_

___Leon chuckled as he lightly scratched her back. I put her back into her seat and she went right to sleep. I covered her up and turned to look at Leon._

_"__Are you sure you're ready for this?"_

_"__As ready as I'll ever be. The worse she can do is say no, right?"_

___I looked at Axel, who was standing in the doorway of the driver's side, then back at Leon, who now looked very worried._

_"__Right?"_

_"__Right. Now get in. We need to go."_

___I waved at Cloud and Tifa, who were standing in the doorway of their house as if their only child just left them. The look in their eyes said that they were scared for him. I couldn't blame them. There were things that Tifa could guess as if she knew but she had no reason to be scared this time. Yuffie would be ecstatic that Leon found her again. That was something I knew._

___We drove into town. We parked a little less than a block away from her house._

_"__Maybe we should move out here." Axel said as I got Miliana out of her car seat; she was still asleep._

_"__I don't think so. There's too many people to our family."_

_"__But what if we gave them the lake house and got a nice little loft apartment, you know, three bedroom, two bathroom it would be so nice. And I bet it would be a great place to raise Mili."_

_"__The lake house is a great place to raise Mili."_

___As I handed her off to him, she woke up, "Yeah Daddy, I like the lake house."_

_"__And what would we need the third room for?"_

_"__You know, if we ever decided to have a son…"_

_"__I don't want a brother." Miliana asserted._

___I laughed as we started walking toward Yuffie's apartment. After a while, Miliana reached out for Leon and he allowed her to climb onto his back._

_"__Uncle Leon?"_

_"__What is it?"_

_"__Are we ever going to see you again?_

_"__Of course you will. Yuffie and I will come to visit whenever we can."_

_"__Promise?"_

_"__I promise."_

___She kissed his cheek and then reached back out for Axel. Next thing we knew, we were standing on Yuffie's doorstep. Leon looked at me and Axel and then at the door._

_"__Just ring the doorbell." Axel encouraged._

___Leon nodded before taking a deep breath. He reached out and pressed the door bell._

_"__Just a second!" a low soprano called._

___The door opened a few seconds later. In the doorway stood a young girl, she was definitely no older than me, more than likely younger. Her dark hair was cropped short and held back from her face by a scarf. She wore a tank top with a half jacket over it and a short-ish pair of shorts. Her feet were bare. She looked out at us with a sort of awed look on her face._

_"__Yuffie?"_

_"__Leon? Leon is that you?" she whispered._

_"__It's me, baby. I'm back."_

___She took in a deep breath and then exhaled as she jumped into his arms. I could hear her sobs as she buried her face into his shoulder._

_"__I thought you were dead." She cried._

_"__No. These people saved me. They found me after I was released and they took care of me. I would've been dead had they not come to my rescue."_

___She pulled out of his hold, not all the way just far enough to look at us, before she muttered, "Thank you. Thank you for returning him to me."_

_"__It was our pleasure really. He's been great with our daughter and a big help around the house. And plus, if I were in your shoes, and the man that I loved went missing, I would be scared of my mind and I would lose my mind missing him so much." I looked up at Axel as I said that and he smiled down at me._

___He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head._

_"__Would you like to come in? I just made some hot chocolate."_

___Axel looked down at me before I looked at Miliana, her head on his shoulder and her eyes closed. I nodded. Axel looked at Yuffie and nodded. She smiled and walked into the house, pulling Leon along behind her. We followed in behind them. Leon shut the door behind Axel. We all went into the living room; the kitchen was an open room to the right. Yuffie was stirring something. Leon sat on the love seat. Axel and I sat on the sofa. He gave Miliana to me. I put her on the empty seat next to me, her head on my lap. I stroked her hair and Yuffie gave me a mug of hot chocolate. Then she gave one to Axel and Leon before seating herself very close to her formerly missing lover boy. _

_"__So how old is she?" Yuffie asked._

_"__A little over a year old now."_

_"__Really? She's so big."_

_"__I know. Um, she was premature. And even after she became a normal sized newborn, she had to have growth hormones injected into her body. So she looks a lot older than she is. She's starting to grow normal now." I explained._

___Yuffie nodded, "So tell me how did you find him?"_

_"__We didn't actually. Our friend found him on the side of the road one night on his way home from the store. He's a very kind-hearted person; he felt like he couldn't leave him there once he saw him. We took him in then. We fed him and cared for him. As he got better, he started asking about when he could see you. But we couldn't find you until his memory returned. When it finally did, he gave us your address so here we are." Axel explained._

_"__Your memory? Leon, what happened to you?"_

___I looked at Axel and he just sipped his hot chocolate like it was nothing that she was asking all these questions. When he looked at me and then to Miliana, I understood. I set my mug on the table before allowing my leg to twitch. Miliana jumped up and looked at me._

_"__Ma_"_

___I put my finger to my lips. She nodded. I ran my finger down her cheek from the corner of her eye. She gave me a curt nod and then she made a face at me. Then her eyes began to well with tears and then she burst out into the loudest cry I had ever heard escape her lips. I picked her up._

_"__Axel, we should go."_

_"__We're so sorry, Yuffie, but we really should be going. We didn't bring anything for her to eat. We really weren't planning to stay long."_

___Miliana let out another loud cry._

_"__Axel, now!" I yelled, moving toward the door. _

_"__Call us as soon as you can."_

___Leon nodded and we left. When we were far enough away, Miliana stopped screaming and all three of us started laughing. _

_"__That was too perfect."_

_"__I think we have a little actress in our hands."_

_"__I was pretty good wasn't I?" she giggled._

_"__So, do you think they're mad we just kind of ran out?" I asked Axel._

_"__I doubt it. It's been weeks, Ri. I'm sure they have a lot of catching us to do."_

___The way he said it allowed for a completely different meaning, "Right."_

___X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

___So I know, updates are coming a lot slower. I've had a lot of school BS to deal with. But now it's Christmas vacation so have a lot of extra time. I have also been alternating posting these chapters with chapters for another fic called "one chance to get this right" if you don't like twilight, then that one may not be for you. but you still might want to give it a shot. I mean, it is my version of twilight. Plus there's an explanation of the story as the first chapter. So while you're waiting for Savior updates give the other one a try. And even if you don't , it's cool. But anyway, reviews are nice. ______ helpful ideas are awesome ___


	26. Let's Not Fight

Leon's Chapter is right under here

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Yuffie and I sat silently for a while. She sipped her hot chocolate and I just ran my hand over her hair where she leaned on my shoulder. She took in a deep breath before sitting up. She set her drink on the coffee table and looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"You know what happened. I was taken by those people."

"I know, Organization XIII, but what happened after they had you?"

"They gave me to a boy. His name is Sephiroth. He was infected with a virus that turned him to a monster, not physically but mentally. He had no idea what he was doing."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I met him after I was freed. He's, um, Rienna's twin brother."

"Wait, what?"

"He's Rienna's twin but he didn't know he had a sister. He was taken from their family when he was little. They were originally after her but they got him instead. They were like three years old. He grew up alone. He was left with a host family until he was old enough. When he finished the fifth grade he was taken out of school and trained to fight. They turned him into that creature, injecting him with the right drugs and mutated genetic structures, little by little every day. His naturally aqua colored eyes turned yellow."

"So you're telling me that you have been living with the people that kidnapped you?"

"That's not it at all. They weren't the ones that took me. Sephiroth had nothing to do with it. He was a prisoner the same as me, only he was trained for violence, for combat. He knows no better."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"No, have you?"

"Listen to yourself Leon. Because he knew no better, does that really justify what he did to you?"

"It was not his fault, Yuffie. He was trained for fighting. Because I could not fight back, he thought that he was winning."

"Why did you not fight back?"

"I hadn't the strength. I was drugged every day so I couldn't fight back. Yuffie, you don't know what it was like."

She stood up and looked at me, "You don't know what it was like to have to wonder if you were alive or dead."

I sat up placing my feet flat on the floor, resting my elbows on my knees. "You knew I was alive. You knew, thanks to all of your conspiracy investigations that Organization XIII kills no one without proper cause. I couldn't fight them. I gave them no reason to kill me. I wouldn't have even if I could."

"Why not? If you could have fought back you could have escaped."

"No I would have gotten myself killed, and any fight that I put up would have been in vain. I would have died for no reason at all other than to put up a fight. Then they would have gone out and picked up someone else's boyfriend, someone else's husband, someone else's son. I wouldn't have done anything more than put up a pointless fight and put someone else's life in danger."

"Would fighting not have been worth it? You could've been back here with me."

"Or dead."

"Would you not have wanted to die trying to get back to me?"

"Yuffie what is it that you are not understanding? I was not going to die to get back here to you because I knew I would not make it back if I tried. It was safer for me to stay there, take the drugs, and do what they wanted so I could live."

"You used to say you would die for me."

"That was when I assumed I would be able to see you before I actually died. But why are you making this about you? I just got back and already we're fighting like this. The fact is that I love you and you're making it seem like you were the victim here. Sure, you were affected by it but I was the one that was there. I was the one that stepped on and off of death row every day. I was the one unsure if I would live or die, unsure if I would be dead with just one final hit."

"So that's it then, Leon? Your life over our life?"

"Now you make it sound as if we both would have died had I. Your heart would've broken sure but my life would have been over. Then you would have given up and moved on."

"But I would have loved you forever. You know you would have always been in my heart."

"I would have been in yours and my heart would no longer be beating. Are you recognizing a theme here, Yuffie? You're upset because I didn't want to die but you're encouraging me to kill myself."

"Why are you so calm?"

"Because the worst is over for me. I'm free of the tyranny and the pain and the fear."

"Then leave Leon. If this isn't what you want, by all means, leave."

"You think I want to leave you! Do you honestly believe that I don't love you enough to stay here? Do you think I didn't want to fight to get back here with you?"

"But you didn't!"

"Which part of 'I couldn't' don't you understand?"

I got to my feet and left the room. I went to the kitchen and braced myself on the counter. Why was she fighting with me?

"Why are you walking away from me?" she whispered.

"Why are you doing this?"

She didn't answer me with words. I heard her footsteps on the linoleum and felt her arms wrap around my waist.

"I don't want to fight with you, Leon."

I turned to her and pulled her tight to me, "Then we won't fight." I pushed her hair back from her face and kissed her gently.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too."


	27. The End

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Rienna

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I was sitting on the couch watching Axel and Miliana play together on the floor. Demyx and Zexion were in the kitchen making lunch. Luxord, Marluxia, Saïx, and Xigbar were visiting. Leon and Yuffie came over. Sephiroth was sleeping on the couch next to me.

While I looked around at my family, my friends, I saw smiles and heard laughs. This was the life I was meant to have, a happy one. Axel saved me. I guess it would sound odd to anyone else but to me, Axel was my savior.

**THE END**

**I would like to thank the creators of final fantasy and the kingdom hearts games. I was inspired when I learned what a good person Axel was from the game. It inspired my story. **


	28. Letter of Gratitude

Dear Fans,

I would like to thank you all for your continued support throughout the creation of the story. As one of my first, I was a bit skeptical about writing it, let alone posting it online but you all encouraged me after the great reviews I received. I owe you all some credit because without you guys reading and reviewing I probably would have given up.

So thanks again and I hope you read some of my other works.

Sincerely and Gratefully,

The Author


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